first post of the day

Cozy Shack: Time's Up

it is an unfortunate habit of humans to make bad choices. annie's poem- i found interesting. why? because you don't often hear folks calling it like they see it. this poem does. i have spent a lifetime wondering why people make the choices that they do- why the waste their lives away instead of nurturing relationships and making the planet a better place. it's one of the reason i studied psychology. well, here i am and i am still scratching my head. faced with a good path or a not so good path- people (at least in this culture) generally choose the not so good. i worked with teenagers and they did it- well, because they were teenagers. who doesn't want to walk on the wild side to try it out?

but i think that the poem spoke to more than just the blatently obviously 'bad'- it spoke about getting old and having a wasted life- and folks not having the courage to be honest. that's big. how many of us have not wanted to intrude or embarrass a friend or loved one? how many of us have decided that 'they're an adult- i can't do anything. it's their life?' we all have.

until we learn better. the communication barrier in this country astounds me. why people don't feel like they can talk to other folks runs deeper than political correctness or the rise of the internet. it dates back to a time where there was 'polite society'- where women and children were 'seen and not heard' and there was a facade of gentility. a time when- you don't interfere with a man and his family. well, it's still that time. we have gotten better at reporting things like abuse- but we still have the 'not my problem' and 'i am not getting involved' mentality. if we won't get involved with our loved ones' lives- how can we expect to change this country and the world?

the poem talks about 'wasted lives' and at first glance you would think it was the older people- but it could just as easily be yours or mine. getting up and going to work every day and feeding your kids and washing the dog- is not living. it's what you do as part of your life. people have been doing that for milennia (or 6,000 years depending on you POV). being an adult or being a parent isn't the feat it used to be when the mortality rate was high. no- this country has the luxury of not having to simply survive- and we have the resources and time to actually make a difference and live a life. so- what is the difference you have made or want to make? and will you actually do it? or will you be a wasted life? it's an interesting poem- take another peek.