Youth Are the Future Guide Them, Don't Break Them

In September 2022, DAAJI released his bestseller, The Wisdom Bridge, and throughout 2023 we are sharing highlights from the various chapters to give you a taste of the practical wisdom the book offers. This month the excerpt is from chapter 18 on Principle 7: Youth Are the Future. Guide Them, Don't Break Them.

-  DAAJI

There is an old engineer's lament, "Between seeing the glass half full or half empty there is also the possibility of the glass being designed for twice the capacity." When the energy of the youth is guided by the elders' wisdom, new perspectives emerge.

Youth are not wild horses to be tamed by breaking them down. They need to be inspired and unleashed as a force for good. The biggest strength of youth is their energy. Their energy is what makes them creative. There is no turning off the fire. There is no hibernating through this phase of life. When the youthful energies are guided in the right direction, such energy becomes creative energy. The energy of youth is not for rambunctiousness. It should be a period of vigorous activity with aspiration. What is this aspiration that should drive them?

It should be how to become gentle, how to become loving, how to become wise. Volunteer work, meditation, mentoring by elders all help the youth in their development.

Parenting Tip: Flexibility in Ideas

When children are between six to ten years old, their intuitive ability is active, and the reason for that is that their minds are flexible. Outside a tantrum here and there, children don't arrive at rigid conclusions and insist "this is how it should be."

As they grow up, their worldview becomes more set. For example, it's easier to instill interests in little children. If a child doesn't like math, then through games and activities, math can be made fun. However, as children grow up, it becomes difficult to steer their interests. They have already made up their mind about their preferences. So, parents need to be creative and have more patience.

The Teenage Brain Is a Work in Progress