Thursday, April 01, 2004

Childlike, Immature, Foolish or Ignorant

What is the difference between someone who is immature and ignorant?
Do you know better? Are you lacking in education, information and experience?
Do you change how you behave when you have more information?
Do you not care about what others do or think or feel?
Do you know what is appropriate, kind, polite and helpful?
Do you do things your way without consideration for others?

What is the difference between being childlike and foolish?
Are you playful, innocent and natural?
Do you disregard or ignore your own inclination to be careful?
Do you take unnecessary risks just to get a rush of adrenalin?
Are you rude and disrespectful to others?
Do you pay attention to what offends your elders and correct your behavior?

We live in an interesting time in an immature culture.
I have often seen the US as a culture of pleasers who go along, conform and act obedient. This is developmentally the latency period (elementary school age). There is also a large population of those who are ego driven by having the best, wanting to be admired and adored, the center of attention and are selfish (me first) in how they relate to others. This is developmentally the toddler age (2-5 year olds).
There are those who operate from an adolescent mentality which is part toddler and part fact finder-research, unemotional and detached from caring about others. These ways of thinking and behaving are often childish and immature, foolish and ignorant.

It is time for us to grow up as a culture.
It is time for leadership to be principle-centered.
It is time for us to seek the good for the whole.
It is time for you and I to step forward and live our spiritual principles as teachers, healers, parents, volunteers, and leaders in our communities and families.

Be innocent and playful as a child, free, spontaneous, happy , generous and creative.
Be conscious, respectful, kind, responsible, helpful, attentive and supportive of others.
Be an adult with a natural inner child who you support with your own love, respect and provision.
We all have the opportunity to re-parent ourselves, to love, encourage, nurture and enjoy our inner child.

Healing ourselves, heals our families.
Healing our families heals our communities.
Healing our communities heals our world.
Let it begin with me and you.

Loving you,
Betty Lue