This is a wonderful essay. I believe hope and faith will again come to the forefront. As this next generation grows into adulthood (my kids generation), I think the pendulum will swing back , not to the white christian nationalism that is being hawked these days, but to a deeper quest for faith and meaning beyond the instant gratification and immediacy of social platforms and superficiality.
Beautiful essay Kim. Now I see why you’re reading my work. People long for structure. The church was more powerful in the past for that role. Now people must search for their own meaning in a world built on satisfying desires first. For me and my family, we’ve been going to church since December because we wanted more of a sense of community. And man is it something special. The togetherness and hope and family orientation. It’s very comforting. God bless for your work as a religious leader.
@imi , you’re a kind and generous soul. I’m delighted our paths crossed early on in my Substack journey! Cheers! Seems like it’s been about one year ago. We should celebrate!
What impresses me is the honesty of this piece. Not the admission that the world changed, but the recognition that progress is never something one generation achieves and then hands over complete. Every generation inherits both the victories and the unfinished work of those who came before. I particularly loved the distinction between hope at twenty-two and hope at sixty-eight. One believes history naturally bends toward the good. The other understands that justice, compassion, and curiosity survive only when people choose them again and again. Thank you for this thoughtful reflection.
I was in much the same conundrum from 2019 to about 2022. I'm still wading through my own thoughts and feelings, but hope to me now seems rather flimsy as a thought or idea; I'd rather it be something I do.
I actively started to ignore the news and instead prefer to be informed by conversations. I reject self-checkout and take the time to talk to people, to give each other a chance. I take family and friends more seriously. And I spend as much time as I'm able in the woods with no technology.
I believe we picked the wrong path, culturally. We're now on a bad trajectory. But that's nothing new, historically speaking. It's happened before, but folks are already noticing and some are doing things about it. I stick to trying to be part of that.
This hits because it refuses both cheap despair and cheap optimism. Progress was never a conveyor belt carrying us toward decency while we napped in the cart. Every generation has to choose the work again, and the machine is very happy when kind people decide the institutions will handle it. Hope at sixty-eight sounds less like certainty and more like holy stubbornness. The conversation is not over. Good. Pull up a chair.
Thank you. I’ll share this with my best friend that is already practicing this. He needs reinforcements to have confidence and self respect. We are autistic, sometimes we behave with intelligence, sometimes we behave like our parents, often we are children. We throw fits when stress becomes overwhelming. We are teachers each other by seeing them and finally we see ourselves in their behavior. It’s mostly fear and stress that cause us to push behaviors.
This is a wonderful essay. I believe hope and faith will again come to the forefront. As this next generation grows into adulthood (my kids generation), I think the pendulum will swing back , not to the white christian nationalism that is being hawked these days, but to a deeper quest for faith and meaning beyond the instant gratification and immediacy of social platforms and superficiality.
Beautiful essay Kim. Now I see why you’re reading my work. People long for structure. The church was more powerful in the past for that role. Now people must search for their own meaning in a world built on satisfying desires first. For me and my family, we’ve been going to church since December because we wanted more of a sense of community. And man is it something special. The togetherness and hope and family orientation. It’s very comforting. God bless for your work as a religious leader.
It is very much a pleasure and an honour to know you Kim. You're a profound person.
@imi , you’re a kind and generous soul. I’m delighted our paths crossed early on in my Substack journey! Cheers! Seems like it’s been about one year ago. We should celebrate!
What impresses me is the honesty of this piece. Not the admission that the world changed, but the recognition that progress is never something one generation achieves and then hands over complete. Every generation inherits both the victories and the unfinished work of those who came before. I particularly loved the distinction between hope at twenty-two and hope at sixty-eight. One believes history naturally bends toward the good. The other understands that justice, compassion, and curiosity survive only when people choose them again and again. Thank you for this thoughtful reflection.
My post with the same dierction to it is at: https://virginialynns.substack.com/p/jesus-grew-up-and-changed-his-name?r=ql3sy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
A deep and meaningful read. Thank you, Ginny.
I liked it. Did you see mine? Thoughts?
But what did you think about Kim's post? 💞🌿
I think it was great. Everything I see of Kim’s is great…. I of course wonder what you think of mine!
I was in much the same conundrum from 2019 to about 2022. I'm still wading through my own thoughts and feelings, but hope to me now seems rather flimsy as a thought or idea; I'd rather it be something I do.
I actively started to ignore the news and instead prefer to be informed by conversations. I reject self-checkout and take the time to talk to people, to give each other a chance. I take family and friends more seriously. And I spend as much time as I'm able in the woods with no technology.
I believe we picked the wrong path, culturally. We're now on a bad trajectory. But that's nothing new, historically speaking. It's happened before, but folks are already noticing and some are doing things about it. I stick to trying to be part of that.
Thanks for doing so. Like @Sweetladylove says, we just got to keep keepin on!
Exactly!
This hits because it refuses both cheap despair and cheap optimism. Progress was never a conveyor belt carrying us toward decency while we napped in the cart. Every generation has to choose the work again, and the machine is very happy when kind people decide the institutions will handle it. Hope at sixty-eight sounds less like certainty and more like holy stubbornness. The conversation is not over. Good. Pull up a chair.
Yes, see my post of today too. https://virginialynns.substack.com/p/jesus-grew-up-and-changed-his-name?r=ql3sy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Thank you for this reminder. It is far too easy to fall into complacency.
This resonates. <3
Thank you. I’ll share this with my best friend that is already practicing this. He needs reinforcements to have confidence and self respect. We are autistic, sometimes we behave with intelligence, sometimes we behave like our parents, often we are children. We throw fits when stress becomes overwhelming. We are teachers each other by seeing them and finally we see ourselves in their behavior. It’s mostly fear and stress that cause us to push behaviors.
Heartfelt and wise!