Truth, Youth and Love

I have hope for humanity’s future.

It’s so easy to give up when one thinks the statement “I’m just so angry” is not just a temporary barometer or one’s outlook but is instead a lifestyle today. “I’m so angry” gives you an excuse to just sit there. “I’m so angry” let’s you blame everyone and everything.

Except yourself.

I’m old enough now that I’m entering that time of life when I could fall back on a couple of other ridiculously unconstructive phrases: “Kids nowadays…” and “Back when I was…we...”

Instead, I’m going to stick with hope.

My experiences working for and now volunteering at a school show me there are shining, optimistic spirits still in existence along with the darker things we see in our overall world. Kindnesses are still shared. Happy laughter is still possible. Shining eyes filled with delight at exploration still exist.

Hope is not dead.

My interest in music from around the globe gives me another reason to be hopeful. I’ve met (albeit electronically) some pretty amazing people exploring this musical world- from fans to critics. I’ve written before (Together With You, Delta Blues in Korean Youth) about the strong messages that the members of the K-Pop group BTS have covered in their repertoire (both band-wide and solo projects) since they first began as teenagers & young adults in 2013. It truly impresses me.

Their current world tour setlist is packed with intense commentary on everything from self-esteem issues to personal relationship struggles, thoughts on depression and concerns about destructive school structures and the pressure to conform. They’ve stretched themselves to country- and world-wide concerns about government corruption and the importance of personal involvement and commitment to others as one grows.

Their fans are heeding the messages. Groups come together. Ideas are shared. Plans are made and amazingly helpful things are done. Whether it’s cleaning up after a concert or organizing clothing drives for the needy, there are positive things happening because people are stepping up.

There’s a population today under 30 with strong social consciousnesses. Thank goodness.

We need the hope. We need the reaching out. We need the standing up. We need the holding of hands.

We're All Mutants!

I have diabetes and one of my sons has a birthmark that makes his hair all different shades and textures. I had a medical professional tell me once that we all have about 7 things “wrong” with us. That idea always interested me. It was always reassuring in a weird way.

I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about how we’re all together in this thing called Life- that we have enough things in common that we can (and should) get along. I’ve tried to focus on the positives (Look, we all have someone we love!) or the humorous (Hey! We all have to poop!). I began to wonder if I looked at the not-so-upbeat side, maybe I’d have a more convincing argument.

I dug into it a bit more and it turns out that yes, we’re all messed up! Rob Stein wrote Perfection Is Skin Deep: Everyone Has Flawed Genes for NPR back in 2012 where he outlined some research on the subject of genetic mutation that had been done up to that point. This research included estimates based on one study of 179 individuals which stated that the average human has about 400 defects to his/her genes and at least a couple of those defects are known to be connected with specific ailments.

The study also indicated that although the test subjects had major defects, they were all functioning as healthy people. Their genes read concerns for failure but their lives told of success.

That reminded me of something my own father said to me in his later years as he struggled with the ravages of the lung disease, emphysema. I was a depressed and frustrated youth at the time and probably bemoaning how I should die because of some failure I perceived in myself. He looked at me and smiled, saying something like this: “You’ll be amazed at how strong your body’s spirit to live is. It will stop at almost nothing to survive.”

My take-home messages on all of this?

Our bodies want to be here.

They are our vehicles to experience and enjoy this world. For that reason alone, we should treat them with respect and support them with good choices and healthy living. Our very DNA gives us ways to cope with imperfection in unbelievable ways; stop-gaps and redundancies that allow us to succeed. Let’s not stand in its way through unsafe and unhealthy choices.

We all have problems so we should truly accept that fact.

None of us asked for the genetic roll of the dice we received. We should recognize that and support each other. That includes operating a health care system that acknowledges and helps alleviate the pain and suffering any one of us could face, and does regularly, through no fault of our own. That also includes offering all our children the best education system we can to help them reach their potential and succeed.

There are “problems”. And then there are real problems.

The very wackiness of our genetic code allows for an amazing variety in humanity. My son’s hair does not affect his ability to thrive- it’s just a part of him. The worst thing it does is make his hair stylist’s job a bit more difficult. OK, a lot more. Hair, eyes, skin, even how we learn- the more we just accept and work with how we look and are, the more time and resources we have for dealing with the real problems.

We’re all mutants. Let’s be proud of it together!