A series of essays.....
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| SANE, BALANCED, GALVANIZED AND READY FOR CHANGE..... FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES TO OUR HEARTS. WE MUST LISTEN TO REASON! |
.....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
As a teenager, it was so simple to tune-out the rest of the world. I would tune-in The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Animals and then close my bedroom door.
I didn’t understand at the time that what I was creating was my own form of stillness; a personal solution to maintaining sanity and balance in my life. Stillness for me was the result of the juxtaposition of contrasting experiences.....silencing the world around me by interjecting the comforting sounds of my favorite music into the moment like a long-loved security blanket tucked into the arms of a sleeping child.
Technology may have advanced the devices we use to hear our music on today, but the idea behind the action remains the same; discovering and enjoying a balance in our daily lives. Stillness.
New styles and artists are added to my musical repertoire as time progresses, but the comfort derived from the music will always be a part of my life. Just like the music, the search for ‘stillness’ has magnified throughout the years and I realize that to obtain true stillness and peace of mind, I’ve had to discover how to listen. And, by listening, I’ve come to understand a little more about how small we are as individuals within the larger picture of the world around us.
There will always be wisdom to be found in listening to the bigger world we exist in. Some of the greatest pleasures in life can be derived from having a deep conversation with a friend and truly listening to what it is they have to say. We crave intimacy and kindness and must never forget to make time for it. People need to be seen and heard and know that they matter. One of the main purposes of being here on earth is to listen to and look-out for one another.
Understanding that it’s not the experience that shapes our life, but how we respond to these experiences that really matters. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, have been actively practicing this ‘life lesson’ since experiencing the mass shooting that eliminated seventeen friends and teachers from their lives last week.
Their youthful innocence will be forever changed from that moment going forward.
This tragic experience forced upon them has given rise to a super intelligence and mind-set that is taking over our way of thinking by storm and is transforming archaic values into new, bolder time-appropriate ideas that will help to shape our country for years and years to come! Their response to our tragic lack of gun control, politicians being bought and sold by the National Rifle Association, and the possibility of future mass murders is: “We’re not going to take it anymore!”
These students may be small as individual entities within the larger picture, however, uniting as one, solid unit, they are being seen and heard and know how important their voices have become in the process of looking out for one another.
This latest shooting here in Florida has clarified the rejection of passivity and catapulted the idea of change for the better deep into the atmosphere and the notion that ‘we sit back and do nothing’ is definitely not part of their public or private persona any longer. This is their way of healing after having to endure the atrocious acts that have taken place within their ‘house of stillness,’ learning, and solace....their own high school environment.
If you are even close to my age and all of this sounds vaguely familiar to you, may I suggest that their personal war zone is for them what my generation called the Vietnam War and we must continue to learn, as one generation laps over the next generation or two, that the value placed on human life should always remain at its highest. It is eminently sensible to believe that one of the most important reasons for all of us to be here on earth is to take care of one another and we must never ignore the fact that if we do not, our stillness, sanity, and balance may be placed in jeopardy, indefinitely.
When I listen to the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School speak out about change with all the fervor of their youthful energy and commitment, I can’t help but feel encouraged that this time it will be different. This time, hopefully, the adults in the room will listen, understand and, finally, take action! Godspeed!
Copyright © 2018 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved
