Antiquated

Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later: the sense that I'm not really needed by those on the cutting edge anymore. This is a function of years. I remember a day when everything was a discovery, every discovery an exciting adventure, and every adventure life-enriching. Those were the times when I felt myself on the cutting edge. It was a privilege to try new things with peers who had the same needs I had, and were searching as I was. But things have changed. I haven't the time or energy for the fresh adventures of youth who have yet to discover God's surprises for them. I no longer have the drive, or the keenness of mind. And I think those in their prime can sense that. I feel that to them, I am old, out of touch – an object of appropriate politeness, but not to be taken too seriously.

Experience is worth something, but not nearly as much as experimentation. Nobody believes that the older mindset really understands what’s going on today. It is convenient to think that present concerns and aspirations were selfishly ignored by one’s predecessors. They had their priorities wrong. They lived with rules and methods that just don’t reflect the world as it really is. We today are messed up by their inauthenticity. They are responsible for the leaving us in a quandary, so the last thing we need is their advice.

Funny how things come full circle. Seems I once felt that way about the generation before mine. When it came time for me to strike out on my own, I felt that I didn’t need them either. There was no conversation, no dialogue, no grace extended to them – only impatience. Today, I am constantly amazed by the wisdom of those who have lived longer than I have. There is so much I can learn from them, so much I can adapt and adopt for depth and richness in my life. Why did I wait so long?

Well, it is still a privilege that though I may not feel very useful to the up and coming, I have not been rejected. I will do my best to be a keen observer. I will listen in order to understand, and as occasion affords, to encourage. It will be best to be lean on advice. I will be there to applaud, and to help without judging if there is a stumble. There is much excitement in what’s coming around and I look forward to it. The torch has passed on to a capable generation.