A letter to the children during...
…(a pandemic) (a housing crisis) (a threat to democracy) (a racial reckoning) (climate change) (inflation).
I first wrote this in response to the pandemic, and now see it applies to so many more of today’s challenges.
Dear Children,
Even though you are fully grown and have demonstrated capabilities and talents that far surpassed my own at your age, or frankly at my age now, I worry about what life is handing you in this moment. I picture this pandemic as a gnarly ogre perched on a stump with a giant vacuum hose sucking up all the jobs and opportunities that were within your grasp only weeks ago. Even more than the physical threat, I fear the vision of success—a livable salary, a nice home, means to travel, raising children—dissolving in rivulets like a watercolor left in the rain. I won't describe my grief and anger any further because you have your own versions of this picture without adding mine to the mire and muck. However, it occurs to me, with great hope and optimism, that you are already rising out of it. You are the generation of 9/11/01, of great recessions, of fallen institutions, and broken trust in governments, presidents and so-called authorities, and the gig economy. Nothing is handed to you or guaranteed, except your own response and your own resourcefulness. My generation still remembers the guaranteed job if you got an education and worked hard, and we can't quite shake the comfort and normalcy of that. You, on the other hand, know no such normalcy, and consequently have the advantage of a fluid brain—agile, inventive, ever-changing, adapting. Turbo-charged on technology, your brains have had to keep coming up with something new, solve the puzzle of what's next? now what? what was THAT?
You are so ready for what's next. Ready for the much-needed change in bureaucratic behemoths, white supremacy, capitalism-without-borders, and individualism to a fault. You are the We Generation who understands the value of collaboration and diverse viewpoints. Who understands “we” means a planet full of trees and animals and living water and others who do not look like us. You are the communicators and the connectors who follow your instincts instead of orders. You are unpredictably and unstoppably creative and there are so many of you, you will change the world for the better, one gig at a time, if necessary.
Here is what I want you to know:
Should you need an anchor, I am here. An anchor in something eternal and universal and enduring, or just a kind voice to say: “No, you are NOT crazy; keep going, keep going. I am here.”
And, it bears repeating: You are not crazy. Your instincts, your intuition, your hearts may be young, but they are not wrong; they are every bit as helpful and on target, more so, than a college education, conventional wisdom, and institutional knowledge.
Having said all this, we are better together. Despite my generation's free-fall from grace, many of us have learned good lessons and we are capable of transforming with you. We have a few nuggets of wisdom, but mostly a huge capacity for listening for the greatest in you. Lean on us because WE. BELIEVE. IN. YOU.
Love always,
Mama C.