Animal cruelty, climate change, monoculture...the list goes on.

[ChrissyStar]

I feel hopeless and have decided not to have children because of the state of the world (why would I wish to bring a child into this when I myself, do not like to live here?). Does anyone else feel the same?

[Unbeliever]

It's funny.

I also do not watch the media or the news. I used to just to catch the days weather report and nothing else... but even that these days I just look it up on my phone instead.

However, I do ravenously consume a gargantuan amount of documentaries. Because ignorance and putting my head in the sand feels a little too self-centred for me to feel comfortable with.

While I do believe shielding children (and people in general) from negativity is a admirible goal... I feel less inclined to agree if it is shielding them from reality. In the short term perhaps this could help... but in the long term I can only see it being detrimental for not only them but the world as a whole (completely unprepared for the realities of the real world and allowing the persistance and inevitable increase of active negativity in the world via "ignorance driven apathy" etc etc).

I am fully aware I should bite my tongue about human breeding practises... so I will. However, I will say that while I believe that respect should be offered more frequently in general. The "respect everyones beliefs and choices universally regardless of what they are" is a extremely "Disney" view of the world and falls apart quickly underany decent level of scrutiny.

There are many viewpoints, beliefs and choices that exist in our world that would be completely repugnant to show respect to. I wont give obvious examples (because they deal with truly terrible things)... but I'm sure most people would come up with a few with little effort.

In the end respect must still be earned to some degree... it shouldn't just become a born privilage, or it would lose its value.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi ChrissyStar and all,

A special wave to beautiful birdy, lovely M_M and interesting Jurani 🙂

Unbeliever: I’m not entirely sure if you’re replying to Jurani, me or if it’s more of a general post to everyone? But while I’m here, I may as well chime in...

I think you have some very valid points there, many of which I agree with to a large extent. I particularly like your point about how certain abhorrent views need not be respected. I would think opinions that discriminate or marginalise other people would fall into that category...

As always, it’s a pleasure to have you on board here 🙂 Thank you for sharing your thoughts...

Pepper

[Birdy77]

Hello everyone 😊

Hello Jurani, I agree with you that parents can and should teach their children the good stuff: empathy, compassion, kindness etc, and that is wonderful.

But I don't think that it's possible or desirable to completely cocoon them from all of the realities of the world. I don't believe that that is equipping them well to deal with life.

I know of a pair of parents who believed they could create a bubble in which to keep their child from the harsh realities of life ... but they could only control that to a certain point, and they soon had a maladjusted daughter on their hands who did not have the skills to deal with the real world.

I agree with Unbeliever that in lots of ways it is also detrimental to the planet as it brings forth new generations who are unaware of the problems we face, and therefore unempowered to effectively instigate positive change.

I am not saying that I think young children should watch the news or anything like that. Far from it. (I don't watch the news either). And I totally agree that to give them a happy, loving home from which to launch is the best thing ever and that shielding very young children from negativity is an act of love.

But as they grow they eventually engage with the world as it truly is, (not a fantasyworld we would like to have created for them) and we can't control that like The Truman Show.

I believe a good way to protect children is to speak (developmentally appropriate) truths with them and empower them with skills such as critical-thinking and creative problem-solving. To build their self-esteem enough for them to truly believe that they are strong and capable. To empower them to believe that they can go out there and make a difference - that they can make this world a better place.

Rather than pretending to them that the world is perfectly ok as it is already.

That would be my wish for all children.

Awkward segue to cruelty-free cooking:

Hello Pepper, I have a treat for you today my friend, and everyone of course 😊:

There is a blog I like called zen habits (I think I've mentioned it before) ... well he and another blogger/author have collaborated and created a cookbook called:

Eat More Plants! - 20 simple plant-based dinners in 30 minutes or less.

I thought the "30 minutes or less" might entice you 😊

It costs zero dollars: $0! downloadable for free for everyone! If you go to zenhabits dot net, it is on the home page.

🌻birdy

[Peppermintbach]

Hi ChrissyStar and all,

Beautiful birdy: what a thoughtful post. I loved a lot of your comments 🙂

I liked your points about why it can be helpful to not always shield children from the world (especially as they get older). I particularly appreciated your point about the importance of equipping children with creative problem solving and critical thinking skills to help them make a positive contribution to the world.

Thank you so much for mentioning that site, my friend 🙂 I had a quick look, and might have a more thorough browse through the recipes. Easy to make (and quick) definitely earns his recipes bonus points. lol!

Love,

Pepper xoxox

[Unbeliever]

I wasn't "sheltered" growing up as such, my mum was pretty good about that kind of stuff. She figured that if I was old enough to ask her a honest question... then I was old enough to receive an honest answer.

But the nature of childhood is quite sheltered in a lot of ways anyway. School is in no way an accurate representation of the real world and as a child you spend a significant chunk of your time alive living within these walls.

I've spoken before on this site about how when I was very young I had accidentally assumed that "the adults" knew what they were doing.

I mean, adults would constantly tell you what was "right" and "wrong", always tell you what to do and what not to do. We were always told to treat all the adults in our life with respect... for no other reason than that they were "adults". Even words like "childish" are inherently used in negative ways... so I assumed that "adultish" must be the opposite.

Back then I believed foolishly that adults were somehow wise and allknowing, were guiding us on a path of human greatness for us all. That they knew exactly what they were doing and why. And even though I was still too young to understand it... one day I would get old enough to be wise and worthy of "age respect" too.

And I still remember the day that all collapsed on me. The day I realised that "age" didn't have any relation to wisdom or knowledge... and that what the adults were "selling" wasn't anything to do with making me into a better person or guiding us to a path to greatness. We were just getting churned out of the machine to be just like them for no other reason than because they didn't know any other way "to be".

And the moment I realised this, the days following I looked around and saw loose threads EVERYWHERE, in everything we were doing. Flaws and mistakes persisting because they had been passed down through the generations and accepted as "the way".

I didn't know it then, but it was so dramatically and permenantly perspective changing that it was my first metaphorical "midlife crisis" so to speak.

... I was 8.

I wonder if I had been eased into this reality, perhaps the impact of it would have been less severe and dramatic for me. But I'll never know.

However, the "sheltering" didn't help me at all. And I was angry at most adults for a long time for lying to me and pretending to be something they wern't.

Ahhhhhh... memories.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi ChrissyStar and all,

A special wave to beautiful birdy, lovely M_M, interesting Jurani and all 🙂

Unbeliever: To a large extent, I agree with you. I also feel accruing a larger volume of experiences by life years doesn’t necessarily translate into wisdom. It can, but not always...I think many people are still unsure about lots of things, and still have much to figure out, which is completely okay of course 🙂

I feel just as there are people who grow wiser as they age, there are also people who don’t become much wiser as they age. I actually think personal attributes like self awareness, well developed critical thinking skills, etc are more relevant to personal growth than age alone. In some cases, age can be a part of it, but it’s definitely not the whole picture in my opinion....

In short, as I said, I agree with you that age, in and of itself,
is not necessarily a measure of wisdom....my mentality can be summed up as, I will hear a person out on the basis of the validity/strength of his/her/other argument.

About your other point, I would like to add something...I think the way that some, not all, people want the “next generation” to live “like them”/continue traditions is also partly about validation. I feel when you have a whole bunch of people following the same/similar life path as you, I think it validates certain choices...

So I suppose there’s a degree of comfort in that for some people...I think some (not all) people don’t necessarily want younger generations to be true critical thinkers, but they want them to be a carbon copy/miniature version of themselves (though they won’t necessarily openly admit it in words, but their actions and reactions suggests that line of thinking).

So, I think when someone chooses a life path that deviates from “tradition” or the “norm”, it can be a challenge and even an “affront” of sorts. I feel some (not all) people really struggle with accepting that deviation or “challenge”...

Those are just my personal thoughts. Other people may feel similarly or differently, but I’m merely sharing my views.

Thanks to you, and everyone else, for reading 🙂

Pepper

[Unbeliever]

Peppermintbach,

I agree with what you said above. I have also considered this "validation" perspective before (haha... surprise, surprise).

There is an inherent selfishness and self-centredness to trying to validate your own life choices by limiting your childrens choices to the same things. I actually think this attitude is significantly worse than the more famous... "living vicariously through your own children" attitude (forcing your kids to do the things that you feel you were robbed of the opportunity or failed to succeed into yourself when you were younger).

Nothing can evolve generationally with these kinds of attitudes. Everything just stagnates in its own loop endlessly, without adaption or moving forward. It is a stranglehold on your children ever being able to learn who they are and how they want to be... potentially for their entire life.

I have mentioned before that I am still waiting to meet my first "adult" (as opposed to wrinkly, worn out, grouchy old children). Hell, I am happy when I actually meet an "old child"... most people I've met are infants at best.

After all this time I have come to the conclusion that a "human lifetime" is simply not long enough for a person to grow up. It is the only possible answer for it that I have ever come up with.

It's a shame that we are technically responsible for an entire planet. I don't think we are old enough or mature enough to handle that level of responsibility.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi ChrissyStar (and all),

A special wave to beautiful birdy, delightful M_M and all 🙂

UB: thank you for sharing your thoughts. Always a pleasure to read 🙂

I agree with your points about the importance of adaptation and change in order for there to be positive growth and progress. I feel this applies to so many spheres, regardless of whether it’s climate change, animal cruelty or any other social justice issue.

I think the reason that it’s impossible to truly 100% “grow up” is firstly, what does that even mean? Is it ticking off socially acceptable markers/milestones? Does ticking off the right adulthood “markers” make a person an “adult”? Is it the legal voting age that defines “growing up”? Etc, etc.

Secondly, I think there’s always something new to be learnt/understood (as well as new mistakes to be made as nothing is as great a teacher as making mistakes), thus our life span simply isn’t long enough to allow for us to absorb all this new knowledge and/or have adequate new experiences...

On a related note, it was heartening to read about school students protesting political inaction on climate change in Australia. That really moved me 🙂 I feel enormously proud of them.

Thank you for reading!

Pepper

[Birdy77]

Hi Everyone 😊

UB: I keep having visions of all these Benjamin Button type people everywhere when I read your post ☺ I can't get the image out of my mind.

Pepper ❤ I actually feel like the younger generations are stepping up, I keep reading really heartening statistics about how many young ones are choosing a lot more ethically sound lifestyles, choosing to be vegan, becoming engaged in activism etc. It would be a lot easier if the old croneys, climate-deniers etc would step aside already ... because we're running out of time ... but it is encouraging to see the new generations taking action (I know UB, too little too late ...) .

I just did most of my xmas shopping at biome eco store (online) and it feels good. They're a certified 'b' company, and they make it really easy to make ethical, environmentally considerate, low/zero-waste purchases. It's a good way to assert your ethical stance to others, nicely cushioned in the shape of a gift (like making your point in a subversive manner, gotta love that).

Happy Saturday all 😊

🌻birdy

[Peppermintbach]

Hi ChrissyStar and all,

A wave to UB, M_M, Jurani and all 🙂

beautiful birdy: Yes, yes, that is true. More and more young people are stepping up to reduce their carbon footprint, demand change and help animals. I find it truly inspiring, especially when those currently under-18 will become tomorrow’s voters and leaders...I take heart in that...

For some reason, your post made me think of world renowned primatologist and anthropologist, Dr. Jane Goodall’s “Roots and Shoot” program 🙂 There are members all around the world, and basically it’s all youth-led where members choose their own environmental conservation or animal welfare projects. Her rationale for focusing on motivating young people to take action is about how they will be the future custodians of the planet, etc, etc. I love her empowering attitude and sense of hope 🙂

Thank you so much for telling me about that site. I’ve had a quick browse, but haven’t really had a proper look yet. I like how you’re making your point subversively via carefully selected Christmas presents. Love it 😉 xoxox

Kind thoughts to all...

Pepper