Are You jaded?

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
– e. e. cummings

Are you jaded? If you are, you are probably between the ages of 30-45--squarely falling into the "Gen-X" designation. Looking sideways at the Gen-X'er's, (my 3 children are all in that group) I find them and the adults who commune with them off-putting, defensive and ultimately destructive with their phony, false self-deprecation (there's nothing more egotistical than false humility!), their jaded, nasty cynical attitude toward life, their determination to do everything possible to disdain hope and freedom of expression, curiosity and wonderous delight in the moments of life. Delight is considered "childish" by this jaded group. We all have to be realistic--the "bubble" of denial that has burst into a river of weeping and wailing in this country is certainly sign enough that unrealistic expectations and hopefulness based on fantasy can end in terrible disillusionment and hopelessness. On the other hand, the antidote to disillusion is not cynicism and sarcasm--it is renewed hope in the moments of life, the firm belief in values that actually last, such as relationships, love, giving, compassion and true self awareness. Whatever spiritual or religious path you are on is not the issue--the fact is whether you are even bothering to look for a path at all. It does seem to me that the Gen-X'ers have more in common with my parents who sunk all their eggs into the commerce-money-materialism basket, only to find total despair and loneliness in their later years. In order to affirm life one must affirm hope. Without hope what is the point? The next question should be: what are we hoping for? This is a question that I am in the process of answering for myself and for those of you who are reading this, my wish for you in the coming year is the courage to embark on your own private journey in this direction and find out where it leads you.

Could we find another e.e.cummings in this day and age--a poet who has the hope and open wonder and delight--a poet who could write something like this?

you shall above all things be glad and young

you shall above all things be glad and young
For if you're young,whatever life you wear

it will become you;and if you are glad
whatever's living will yourself become.
Girlboys may nothing more than boygirls need:
i can entirely her only love

whose any mystery makes every man's
flesh put space on;and his mind take off time

that you should ever think,may god forbid
and (in his mercy) your true lover spare:
for that way knowledge lies,the foetal grave
called progress,and negation's dead undoom.

I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance