The Young Have No Idea

I've never heard any other people my age express the same sentiments I feel when watching seemingly carefree teenagers. They really have no idea what lay ahead and I can't help but feel sympathy for them.

For most of their adult lives they'll take the good times for granted and not treasure them as they should. They'll often make the mistake of believing the good times will last forever but they won't.

I saw a group of teenage girls today and marvelled at their beauty and what I took to be innocence. Having been there and done that I knew they'd be ill prepared for the sad times to come because it's not something we can plan for.

This is life. I wish only happiness and pleasure was what we could all expect but that's never, ever the case. There will be illness, death, and broken hearts along the way.

If I could preach a sermon about how to get the most out of the lifetime allotted to them I would tell them to always surround themselves with good friends. I would tell them to show their love for their family. Then I would stress how important it is to develop a kind nature (this comes from developing tolerance). But most of all, I would tell them to love themselves and never let anyone disrespect them. I'm still working on a few of those traits myself.

I look on the life I've led as an experience. I can say with confidence that old age has been easier to handle than my younger years were but that's just me. I hope those young ladies have an easier time of it. My heart goes out to them, though.

I don't want this to be a blog about the misery of life but of how I believe I could have done it better. It took me way too long to even begin to find my way and my wish for those girls is that they discover the path early.