More musing on lost youth...
Been thinking about my earlier post. It was really just a momentary thought, that I put down just to have put something down... But it got me thinking...
What happens to us between childhood and adulthood to make us so bitter and negative? At what age do we magically transform from "I'm great! I'm going to the circus tomorrow!" to "I'm okay"? What happens?
I once read an article (think it was in Newsweek) about a man who went to a bunch of elementary schools and asked the kids, "who can dance?" Just about every hand went up. "Who can sing?" Just about every hand. He then went to several college campuses and asked the same questions, and only one or two hands went up in each case. What the hell happened? Where did all these little performers go? At what point did their "can do" spirit get stabbed by the long, sharp knife of reality? I seriously don't know. I guess it has something to do with the society we live in, and the "you can't do that" attitude that prevails. To heck with them. Go outside and sing. At the top of your lungs. And be proud of it. Just don't sing too loudly in your cell, when they haul you away for disturbing the peace.....
Another big difference between youth and adulthood: Injuries. The other day a friend noticed a fairly deep scratch on my arm, which was bleeding, slightly, and he asked me how I did that. Truth be told, I had no idea. I didn't even notice. As a child, I would have, most likely, been screaming bloody murder at the same wound. I look at all the minor scars that abound my body and wonder where they all came from. So, the lost youth question on this one is this: At what point do we build up such a great tolerance for pain that we don't even notice wounds any more? And, more importantly, is this such a good thing?
Just a couple of things to ponder.
What happens to us between childhood and adulthood to make us so bitter and negative? At what age do we magically transform from "I'm great! I'm going to the circus tomorrow!" to "I'm okay"? What happens?
I once read an article (think it was in Newsweek) about a man who went to a bunch of elementary schools and asked the kids, "who can dance?" Just about every hand went up. "Who can sing?" Just about every hand. He then went to several college campuses and asked the same questions, and only one or two hands went up in each case. What the hell happened? Where did all these little performers go? At what point did their "can do" spirit get stabbed by the long, sharp knife of reality? I seriously don't know. I guess it has something to do with the society we live in, and the "you can't do that" attitude that prevails. To heck with them. Go outside and sing. At the top of your lungs. And be proud of it. Just don't sing too loudly in your cell, when they haul you away for disturbing the peace.....
Another big difference between youth and adulthood: Injuries. The other day a friend noticed a fairly deep scratch on my arm, which was bleeding, slightly, and he asked me how I did that. Truth be told, I had no idea. I didn't even notice. As a child, I would have, most likely, been screaming bloody murder at the same wound. I look at all the minor scars that abound my body and wonder where they all came from. So, the lost youth question on this one is this: At what point do we build up such a great tolerance for pain that we don't even notice wounds any more? And, more importantly, is this such a good thing?
Just a couple of things to ponder.
posted by Turtle at 9:18 PM
1 Comments:
I have often wondered the same thing. I've noticed of late that I don't really have emotional highs and lows anymore. At least not like when I was younger. The sine wave of my soul has leveled off, and I didn't notice it happening. I kinda miss the highs (let's get 12 people in a tree and tell stupid puns), but I don't really miss the lows (kill me, Billy). Perhaps it's the fact that we have to steer our own karmic longboat now, and mommy can't kiss our boo-boos away anymore.
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