I Speak to the Young

I speak to the young. I thought long and hard, about what it was like to be a child, not yet a young man, not yet providing for myself. I asked myself what I would have wanted to hear, what I should say to you from my place in the cycle. So, listen and I will say what you must know.

It is hard to be where you are. The world is so immediate, and it’s got some big questions in it. Do you believe as your parents? As I do? What name does the sun have, does the moon have? Why are we here? Are you doing the right things? And none of these questions have a solid enough answer for me to say that it will have the same answer for every child who reads it.

You are in a place where you do not know everything. That is okay. I do not know everything. No adult does. It is a prized secret that many of us believe we know less now than we did at your age, but we’re trying. We cannot dance the circle backwards, or turn back time with the knowledge earned. You are asking the same questions we are – and you will find a dozen, a hundred answers over the course of your life, each day a new reality with its own answers. And to change your mind is good when you have reason to. Never become so entrenched in your beliefs that they cannot change when you learn new things.

You will make decisions on what to believe. You may walk our Primali path, dancing the cycle with the Forces until the Beast comes to take us past the final door and into our next lives. You may walk a thousand other paths. And those are yours to discover and learn. So I will not tell you the stories of our path alone. I will tell you the things you will need to do your best.

I will tell you of our Ideals and Aspirations. Those are big words, not in difficulty but in concept. Ideals are the things we think are divine and ultimately important. Aspirations are things we want to live up to. We are not perfect – nobody is. We make mistakes and must try to make them right as well as forgive ourselves for making them. But this is how I will explain our sacred ideas to you.

The Divine Self means you. It means you are a whole universe full of your thoughts and emotions, and that you are a piece of the Universe. In science class, you learn what you’re made up of – water and bone and muscle and air and heat. And those things are part of the universe, so you are part of the universe. A part of the Earth itself walking around and thinking thoughts. So we try to remember that we are worthy of respect and love, worthy of our own efforts. We are a giant ball of thoughts about other people, of thoughts about ourselves, of blood and skin and bone, of emotions, and of choices.

The Divine Society means everyone. If we are Divine Selves, then the people around us are Divine too – everyone possesses that same divinity. So if we’re a bunch of Divine Selves, then how we treat others matters, and how we choose to make society work matters. We have to think of how to lift others up, and we have to remember that everyone deserves the same respect and opportunity. It’s okay to think that something needs fixing, because it’s something we can choose to fix to honor Divine Society. It won’t always be right. It certainly isn’t now. But you can help make it right.

The Divine Defiance is a hard one. You’re told all the time not to be defiant. Not to talk back and be difficult. And in most cases, that’s probably true. You’re at a time when you’re learning how to be around other people, how to act honorably with them. But there are times you must be defiant. To say that you will not stand for bullying, for cheating, for lying. To speak up when you know someone is being hurt, including you. To decide to keep going even when you’re sad or afraid. Those moments are absolutely sacred, and it is something to be proud of.

The Divine Choice is your free will. It means you can do anything. You have to be willing to accept the consequences of those choices, but you can choose any path you want. The trick is to know what you really want and need, and that takes thinking those big thoughts, and it takes listening to others who may know more than you. But once you decide to do a thing that’s the right thing for you, for those you care about? That moment of decision is one of the most important you will ever have. And it’s divine, because it’s the will of your Divine Self.

Our Aspirations start with Honesty. Oh, it’s hard to be honest, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s easier to lie. Sometimes you don’t want to get in trouble, or you don’t want to hurt someone else’s feelings. But think of it this way – some adults lie. You know this. Does it make you trust them when they talk? Or do you always ask yourself if they’re lying? I want to be a person who doesn’t make other people ask that question. You know what I’m saying is the best truth I have, because that’s what I offer. So, I encourage you to be honest. Honest with yourself and honest with others. It means your word can be trusted when it really matters, and people will start to believe and listen to what you say when you’re ready to say it.

The next is Creativity. We want to aspire to creativity, and it might be that this will be the easiest one for you. Create something. It’s the same energy the universe had when it began, flowing through your fingers. Write a song or paint a picture. Learn how to program a computer or start a business. Do not be discouraged if you’re not good at it. Nobody is when they start. It takes your Divine Choice to decide it’s important to you – and if it is your passion, or even your passing interest, it is very important to you.

After that is Freedom. Without freedom, there can be no choice. You’re going to want to do things by yourself, not always with the help of your adults. You’re going to want independence, and that’s okay. You have to prove you’re ready, by doing the things that show you understand and that you’ve practiced and that you’re ready. You’ll earn your freedom slowly, and that’s okay too. It’s going to be up to you to be ready for those freedoms and to plant your feet and demand them in a respectful way. You’ll be surprised how many adults are ready to see you grow and learn and be ready for your next step.

Then there’s Compassion. Compassion means kindness and empathy. We aspire to be kind to others and to ourselves – they’re equal, you know. Find a place in your heart to offer kindness. Do something for someone else. Think ahead of what they might like or need. It may be the thing they need to have a good day, and they will remember that act more than you think. Do something nice for yourself, too. Be forgiving with yourself, and know that this is the time to learn…and that learning takes mistakes many times.

Lastly is Patience. And, let me tell you, this is the hardest one for adults too, no matter how many times you get into trouble for not having patience. Patience means waiting sometimes, and it means forgiving sometimes, and it means taking time to process things sometimes. It means taking the extra moment not to be angry. It means being understanding when someone else needs more time. It means that you can be patient with yourself, to take time to learn, to make mistakes, and to enjoy your victories.

 

When I was thinking about what to say to you, I remember that having classroom rules helps sometimes. So, I wanted to think of what rules I would tell you to take for yourself. I can only think of 5.

1. Treat others as you wish to be treated – this is selfish, but remember that everyone else is a Divine Self too. So imagine how you’d want to be spoken to, and how you’d want other people to act towards you. Then do that to others.

2. Question everything, but be humble enough to accept the answers – Question adults. There are always times and places to do so, so be respectful if you can be. But question us. We’re not automatically smarter than you are. However, we have lived a lot longer, and made our own mistakes, so if you ask the questions, make sure you’re ready to hear the answers.

3. Listen first, but make your own decisions – The adults around you have lived a long life, and have a lot to say. In general, they’re trying to teach you how the world works right now. So, listen to them. However, in the end, you are not required to believe everything they teach you, and you are not required to accept that the way the world works now is the way the world has to work. You can choose a better one.

4. Choose yourself, the society you want, and the right actions to lift both up – You are Divine. Others are Divine. Choosing the right thing to do for both of those is something you can control.

5. Nobody is better than you, but neither are you better than anyone else – Never believe that you are lesser than another person, adult or no. You are not. You are a perfect work in progress just the way you are in the moment you’re living. However, also never believe that anyone else is lesser than you. They are a work in progress – just like you.

And I am so sorry. If an adult has never apologized to you, let me be the first. We forget where you are. I have memories from childhood, but I see them as an adult would. I’ve mostly forgotten what it was like to be you. And adults do. We forget and we do stupid things. And I am sorry for that, and I wish someone had said that to me when I was you, because I mean it. You will never be where you are again, and it’s a wonderful, exciting, beautiful, terrible time.

Let me be clear. Do not suffer a child to silence of idea or question. Your voice matters. Your learning matters. Your education matters. Your thoughts matter. You are a piece of the universe, just like your parents and adults, just like your friends, just like your church-mates. And I believe that you will figure it out one day. I believe you will learn the confidence to be the most amazing version of yourself. You can do this.

And whatever you choose in the long run, know that in this moment you are loved and treasured, and that every single path should remember its roots in the Earth around you. We all come from the Cycle, no matter the name we call it, and to it we will return. I love you.