In the 60’s it was popular to “go in search of yourself.” But eventually the mountaintops got crowded and people discovered that “wherever you go, there you are.”
In other words, you bring your baggage with you. So people began to work on their baggage with a bit more commitment, and the fields of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy blossomed. Then the searching generation gave birth to a generation of conformists and the search for self became a search for the best job, the highest salary, the next step up. And we had a new “me” generation with little commitment to the long haul, whether in marriage or in their jobs. The search for self became a search for the newest drug to combat … everything! “I don’t have time to waste on some couch give me the latest anti-depressant and sleeping pill, and while you are at it, something for anxiety!” Instead of going “up the mountain” they go to the next fad workshop, the newest “road to success” in however many simple steps. People have life-coaches now, and wedding planners, nannies, personal assistants, makeover specialists, and investment brokers. They don’t have time for their own lives, they have to sub-contract.
How does this relate to spirituality?
Disastrous marriages, trophy wives, younger second husbands, angry children, aging parents, and the fear of failure and aging nipping at your ankles. This is a hard way of life to sustain without some … some what? Somewhere to go for meaning. Some people choose drinking or gambling or drugs to escape the growing sense of pointlessness of their acquisitive lifestyle, and if they are lucky they end up in a group. Exactly how many different support groups are there these days? Why do I ask? Because they are a sign that people are searching for community, and for support and for meaning – a way of understanding themselves and their drives. People are searching for church – “a community of believers” – of one kind or another. Whether it is in AA or Yoga class. Perhaps this will turn out to be the most spiritual generation yet?
So I pray,
Source of Spiritual awareness, God of the Mountain top, don’t give up on us. We are searching, just in different ways. Give us the courage to find ourselves and each other … and you.
Traces of Hope 