I sometimes wonder if I think too much or not enough. I do indeed grapple with how to approach dire situations. As a teacher I was trained to analyze data and observational information to create lessons and a classroom environment conducive to learning. I may react spontaneous to the news o breaking event or idea, but ultimately I return to the careful consideration of how my actions and those of others will impact our daily lives. 

I suppose that because of my background I am rarely relaxed. As a teach and school administrator I had to be aware of everything that was happening at any moment in time. Looking away almost always resulted in accidents and chaos. Humans have a way of becoming prey to accidents, especially when they are gathered in groups. I’ve learned through experience to always be prepared for the worst while hoping that I will only encounter the best. I apply that kind of attention to virtually every aspect of my life which means that I sometimes become exhausted from being on watch for my loved ones and for people in general. 

People accuse me of being too tightly strung and I must admit to owning that characteristic. Perhaps it stems from being an eldest child who carried the bulk of responsibility and expectations in my family, usually induced by my own sense of duty. Maybe it grew from my father’s death and the realization that life can change in the blink of an eye. Possibly it comes from being too conscious of the vagaries and challenges of the world in which we now live. Whatever has caused me to be this way is all at once both a gift and a curse. Somehow I am rarely in a totally relaxed state of mind and mostly my worries are about the people and the nation that I love. I want more than anything to keep them from harm as much as possible. 

Of late i have attempted to learn from my adult children and from my grandchildren who are beginning to advance onto the world stage. They have grown up in a world far different from my own. Some of my experiences and thoughts may seem ancient to them just as their points of view sometimes feel radical and even strange to me. Nonetheless, rather than arguing with them I find myself more and more often simply listening to them and even considering the possibility of changing the ways in which I think and do things. 

Perhaps there is a good balance between the so called wisdom of age and the embrace of the future as envisioned by the young. I suppose that I sometimes seem a bit wishy washy to them in my attempts to consider both sides of an argument or belief. it takes me time to embrace a conclusion by which I will guide my choices in life. My reluctance is not based on an unwillingness to evolve, but rather a long held instinct to carefully analyze each unique situation within the context of all of the possible outcomes. I suppose that I have always been the person who asks questions and then does research to find answers. 

What I have learned is that in many ways the youngest adults among us have the most revolutionary and credible ideas. They are often operating from more knowledge that those of us who are older my have, especially when it comes to issues like technology and world events. They are less inclined to cling to old and outdated viewpoints. They look to the future rather than the past. They are not yet nostalgic like older people often become. They are looking ahead to a lifetime of creation while we look backward because we know that with each passing year our days are numbered. They should take the keys from us and take hold of the wheel. We should gladly give them the opportunity to show us what they can do. 

My grandfather Little was a paragon of wisdom, and in that vein he never stopped learning. He celebrated progress and only related stories of the past to show us the threads of enterprise that led to a better world. He related the glories of the willingness to adapt to a changing world. he clearly understood that along with inventiveness that makes our lives easier there must also be new ways of thinking that are in touch with the realities of both the present and the future. He used the past to point out the areas where we were flawed and those when we were willing to change for the betterment of all. Even at the age of one hundred eight he was still celebrating forward change and urging us to keep our minds as open as possible. 

The most wonderful moments that I experience tend to be with young people. They are still learning, but often they know more than I do. I glory in encouraging them to enlighten me. They teach me something new with every encounter. I see that they are far from being the lazy or ignorant souls that some older folks accuse them of being. They challenge us to see the world from a broader perspective than the narrow confines of our own opinions. We would do well to listen to them rather than attempting to drown out their thoughts or punish them for disagreeing with the generally accepted ways of seeing things. We should instead remember the youngsters like James Madison and Alexander Hamilton who proposed revolutionary ideas to create a new country that they hoped would never be static. They understood the dangers of clinging to the old ways rather than being willing to move forward in sometimes dramatically different directions than the world had ever seen. 

I love nothing more than being challenged by young people whose beliefs are much more radical than mine. I find them to be earnest in their insistence that there are indeed situations in which the old ways no longer work. Their intent is to reshape the world into better and better approximations of freedom for all people, even those beyond our borders. They see a big picture rather than a narrow one. They are exciting and eager. I learn from them with every encounter and it keeps me young at heart.