Spirit & Wisdom

"There's a constant contradiction, what feels good and what feels right. But, you live with decisions that you make in your life. And what steers your direction is hard to understand, the spirit of a boy, or the wisdom of a man." -Randy Travis-

So I love country music. I grew up listening to it, and I still love it today. I cannot help but think about these lyrics right now. For whatever reason there seemingly is a divorce between older generations and younger generations. I think that is one of the things that makes this such a bitter, bitter divide in this election. The sad reality to me is that I think both youth and age bring about important perspective and viewpoints of how to make decisions and move forward. Being young tends to bring sarcasm, cockiness, and a certain amount of brash/bold decision making. It is that "spirit of a boy" that moves us forward. Being older seems to bring about more calculated, wise, and long thought out decision making. It is that "wisdom of a man" that moves them forward. What feels good in a decision? What feels right in a decision? In my opinion, I think both are needed.

Here is my problem. I feel like many people "of age and wisdom" love to approach us youthful people with condescending attitudes. We get treated like idiots, like we do not know how to make decisions, and that we cannot possibly have any intelligence because we are young. I understand that some of that is deserved because of how brash and cocky we can come across. But in reality all it does is cause further separation. At some point both sides need to concede a little in my book. Because if the power of the "spirit of a boy" was actually combined with "the wisdom of a man" - great things could happen. My issue is that I don't think they will because both sides remain so far apart, mainly because their pride automatically thinks of boasting of their side's strengths while deriding the other. Do I make mistakes and foolish statements because I am young? Yes. However, attempting to belittle me into thinking I am so stupid because of my youthful ignorance does not necessarily move me forward. And I understand being older brings about wisdom, but I lose count on how many times older people have lost that "spirit" quality that brought excitement and joy to life. Playing it safe may be wise and yet it may come at a cost of all that makes life worth living.

What are the chances we can move forward? Who knows. All I know is instead of writing insults and poking holes in each other's thoughts/opinions, it might do us all some good to realize the benefits of both the spirit of the boy and the wisdom of the man.