Inspiring Thoughts About Life: Are We a Lost Generation?

Inspiring stories make us reflect about ourselves and the generation that we belong to.  Are we a lost generation?  Do we have hope when we view life or do we see our case as a hopeless one?  May you take the time to read this true story and come up with your own reflection. 

The huge hole in the screen door spoke volumes. He did what?! The old skinny man, in his temper, had tried to hit our caretaker with a stick. He was angry because the young man, who was working part-time for a friend of mine, came home later than usual. Luckily, he was able to duck and was unharmed. The screen got the blow instead.

How could he? His dilapidated house was just beside our school. But out of compassion for an old, lonely man, we had taken him in to stay with the young man for companionship. Fear of violence had taken its roots and so we had no choice but to let him go.

I don’t even need to watch the evening news to know how much hate, violence, cruelty, bloodshed, warfare, broken marriages and families, loneliness, suffering, pain, rivalry, competition, betrayal is out there.

I remember when that incident happened; it stopped me on my tracks. An avalanche of painful memories came hurtling back. I don’t need to go far; I see it everywhere for it happens even in our midst.

Is it really true?

Is our generation full of lost souls, gone astray, feeling bewildered, not knowing where to go? Are we so lost that we are beyond recovery or redemption? Have we fallen into the trap of thinking that violence, cruelty, broken families is a now a norm?

Are we walking along life’s road with that lost, distracted, desperate, distraught, and hopeless look of a man trapped and afraid?

I cannot deny these things are out there.

And yet I refuse to believe that we are a lost generation. I believe that we have it in us to change, to stop destroying ourselves; and instead rebuild our lives. I genuinely believe that man or woman is capable of expressing themselves as their highest thoughts, their grandest vision and be who they truly want to be.

As I knelt in the pew in church for Sunday mass with my two brothers and their wives, we bowed our heads in prayer as the priest raised the host up in the air. In between the priest words and the silence of the church goers, a tiny voice started singing. “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun twis to ride in a one horse open sleigh …Hey!”

His family went “ssssshhh” and he sang again! A smile spread from my face to my heart looking at him with his impish grin. I was experiencing the Christmas spirit in April.

As long as there are still souls who are determined to spread joy, we are not a lost generation.

Our school secretary was sharing that one of our children had a wound on the side of her forehead because a classmate unintentionally pushed her. The angry dad was telling her that if he was around, he would have boxed the child. The little girl replied, “No dad, don’t do that. He is just a little boy.” Out of the mouth of a five year old girl. I couldn’t help it, I felt my heart clenched. I was so proud of her.

As long as there still souls who are compassionate and understanding, we are not a lost generation.

A priest was sharing how he was once stuck in traffic and was approached by a boy who was selling small pieces of cloth used for cleaning cars. He took pity on the boy, rolled down his window and bought a few. All he had was a thousand pesos in his wallet. The boy didn’t have any change and said that he will be right back after he gets the change from his father. The priest confessed that it crossed his mind that the boy would run off with his money. The boy proved him wrong. He expressed all this to him and got the simple reply, “I couldn’t do that sir. My father taught me not to take money that is not mine.”

As long as there are souls with integrity, we are not a lost generation.

"Internal and external are ultimately one. When you no longer perceive the world as hostile, there is no more fear, and when there is no more fear, you think, speak and act differently. Love and compassion arise, and they affect the world."-- Eckhart Tolle

There are hundreds and thousands of such stories. Little and big ones that make you believe and hope that we can make a difference. I don’t need to go far to look for them because they surround me everyday. There are untold stories of people helping, supporting, and encouraging one another. They do it quietly and willingly. They do it with love. It is those stories that give me hope.

As long as there are people who choose to live a life of love, harmony, and purpose...as long are there souls who live deliberately and with awareness... to help others find the light within them, to believe in the goodness of each person and to care... 

...we are not a lost generation. The hope of the future lies in our hands.

By: Michelle Simtoco