On Youth

"Back in those days, everything was simpler and more confused."
Jim Morrison, The Doors.

Drawing on this excerpt of a lyric which comes to my mind every so often, I am driven to thoughts of youth, or rather my perception of days long passed, when I was younger. Life was simpler, I think we can all agree. In youth we had less experience and fewer accumulated memories to muddle up our minds, creating limits, barriers, or boundaries. We had a much broader perception of the possible futures we might attain; free of the constrictions of what life eventually throws at us: jobs, the pursuit of money, the need for security, the accumulation of things, rules and limits ascribed by institutions, the list goes on and on.

We need much of the endeavours we pursue (the seemingly endless list of things that life has thrown at us) and yet we only really need a few to survive. Our problem lies in the level of satisfaction we enjoy....... we always want more. When we were younger we achieved goals that gave us a level of satisfaction which pacified us, but only for a time. We soon discovered that there was something bigger and better, and off we went in pursuit of the dreams of our youth.

Do we ever really attain those dreams? Are we ever really satisfied? Content? Fulfilled? Sometimes we long for "those days when things were simpler", when the dreams were fresh and exciting. As I approach mid-life (heck I'm practically in it), I reflect on the dreams of those early years, adolescence, young adulthood, and realize I didn't really know what I wanted. Perhaps this is the "confusion" that Mr. Morrison is referring to.

What do I dream for now? This is what I feel to be paramount. Can I awaken the spirit of those younger days? Perhaps the destinations may have changed, and likely for good reasons, but it's the spirit and vigor of those youthful dreams and aspirations that I miss. The feeling that the world was my oyster.

Sure, life has many obstacles and pitfalls to traverse. Experience has taught us well and she is a valuable teacher, but she can also blind us of potentialities if we take her lessons as harsh and disciplinary, restricting us to sit in the front of the class with the dunce cap on, narrowing our perspective of "The World of the Possible."

We get older and wiser. We take our lumps and keep on keepin' on. Life can be challenging, downright devastating, and destructive. Tragedies abound, they always have. What makes it all bearable is one's perspective and the spirit with which we conduct our lives. "I want to be a kid again" is the age old gripe of those in midlife, bringing to mind the overweight, balding, 45 year-old man with the too-small sports car and the out-of-fashion wardrobe. A person like this has missed the point completely. It's not the accessories and appearance of youth, but the vitality and the essential character with which we live that ultimately shines through.

A Personal Note on Mr. Morrison:
A life lived in excess, and relentless pursuit to break the barriers he perceived, brought him to a sad and early death at 27 years. It is with the utmost respect for him as a human being and artist with which I reflect on the profundity of his statement, while not condoning the fatal excesses of his lifestyle.