Dear Friend,
I have a four year old who has decided that she doesn’t have to behave like the other kids. She is warm, funny and charming, and, unfortunately, she knows it.
I have often told my wife that she (my daughter that is) is a royal pain in my a** to raise, but I am thrilled that she has the brains and personality that she does, as they will serve her well in adulthood.
The fact is, those traits that make for an easy child – quiet, compliant, quick to please – are also unfortunate personality traits for a person who needs to be focusing on self discovery rather than adult pleasing.
I believe that many of today’s adults were brow-beaten as children into ignoring their natural love of learning and impulses to curiosity, in favor of behavior that was easier for their parents to manage and more socially acceptable among the neighbors. The result is a generation of compliant adults who often don’t stand up for themselves, don’t accept responsibility for the natural consequences of their own actions or for their future, and have no idea who they really are or what their central life’s purpose is.
It’s a shame. No, it’s a tragedy. And it’s very dangerous in a democracy. Nevertheless, here we are. And any of us as individuals need not accept this state of affairs in our own life. We can break out of our programming and begin to live our true lives, our way. It’s the only way to live. And it’s the only hope for humanity’s future.
Talk to you soon,
Hugh
