A Good Thing

When I think of a “heart cry,” I think of a deep yearning, struggling to find response, affirmation and fulfillment. If left unexpressed, it aches and restlessly pervades the whole of one’s being, making it impossible to ignore until recognized. The bearer must finally say, “Yes - I know you’re there and I’ll do what I can to give you peace.”

My heart cry, in recent years, has been of a dual nature. On the one hand, it has been for the young people of our world, so many of whom have been left to their own devices, absorbing negative influences of 21st century media, video games, values and social inertia. I am not blind to the wonderful young people who, raised by responsible parents, are becoming trained and prepared to contribute to society in meaningful ways. But for every one of those, there are a thousand Johnnies glued to computer screens with disconnected dads gaming at other computer screens and moms so stressed from compounded responsibilities that they have no patience for dealing with the Johnnies and the Emmas. On the flip side, my heart cry has been for the precious seniors who are being ignored, neglected or simply deemed irrelevant by their busy, self-absorbed families.

Clearly, the youth of today are going to be faced with unprecedented challenges for which they lack preparation. There are those who say that the coming economic meltdown is going to make the Great Depression look like a cakewalk. I’m not sure what a ‘cakewalk’ is, but no matter how the pundits try to spin the current situation, anyone with a brain knows that the illusion of normalcy is dissolving into an uncertain reality.

Back in the day, while mom and dad did what had to be done to provide for the family, grandpa and grandma were generally available to ‘be there’ for the kids, tending to their needs, giving a reproof when earned and sharing insights about life, gleaned from experience and years of observation. They were often the ones who taught life skills and filled the gaps left by busy parents.

These days, society has become age-segregated through the advent of seniors’ housing developments, age-segregated schools and parental work obligations that take them away from the home. The barriers between generations have robbed every age group of the benefits of inter-generational interaction. Texting has replaced talking and Facebook has become the new living-room of interaction. The voices of seniors without these skills are being muted. Unless we take steps to strengthen the links between generations, the new ways people communicate will widen the gap irretrievably.

The wisdom of our elders are the wells from which we draw understanding, knowledge and warnings against repeating the evil elements of history. We must find a way to open these wells and give our young people opportunities to drink deeply from the life-giving flow. Wherever possible, we must reach out to seniors and help them become equipped with the new avenues of communication. We must help them to become comfortable in the new living rooms of communication. There’s no one better equipped to teach them than the very ones who need their wisdom - our teens. Linking teens and seniors for mutual mentoring can have tremendous benefits.

Technology is not going to go away. Its advent has been a wonderful boon to our world - but we must not allow its potential for isolating people to rob our young people of the natural, centuries-old, methods for gaining life-skills. We need to use it to strengthen our world - not to weaken it. We need to use whatever tools we have to channel the wisdom, insights and experiences of our elders to prepare our young people for the challenges ahead.

Those who scoff at the importance of what seniors have to offer are forgetting that things like industriousness, integrity, financial management, ingenuity, kindness, unselfishness etc. are timeless values that determine success and can’t be taught by a video game. They forget that our kids need to know how to survive in a world without electricity. One swipe at our grid by any act of nature or terrorism could demand that they know how to survive in a pre-wired world.

In responding to my heart cry, I designed legacy journals in which seniors could record their values, insights and observations for the benefit of oncoming generations. http://www.bydesignmedia.ca/store/index.html

My heart song is sung when I see young people helping seniors to complete the journals and doing what they can to coach them in the new social media, welcoming them into their wired world. My heart strings are played when I see precious seniors lift their downcast gazes and smile in response to someone who recognizes their value - to someone who wants to hear about their life experiences and their words of wisdom. That’s a good thing!              

Diane Roblin-Lee is the author/co-author of over 20 books, several of which have been award-winners or Canadian bestsellers. Some may recognize her as a former host (for seven years) of Crossroads' Nite Lite and occasional co-host or guest on 100 Huntley Street. Diane now does custom-publishing and graphic design through her company, byDesign Media, in Uxbridge, Ontario. She works with Winning Kids Inc., promoting their Plan to Protect and serves on the Board of the Heart to Heart Marriage and Family Institute. Her present focus is her Legacy work, through which she founded My Legacy Links with a view to bridging the generations. Diane has two sons and four grandchildren. She is available for speaking engagements. Contact Diane at diane@bydesignmedia.ca or visit  "My Legacy Links" at www.mylegacylinks.com.