What are we searching for?

Is it simply the need to gain attention, notoriety, and let your peers think that you are cool or are you searching for love, a sense of contentment and inner satisfaction that causes you to have a strong desire to feel instantaneous joy or gratification? 

As I was working out at the gym today, I started to think about all those celebrities and others who are taking drugs to space out and feel high and I started to wonder why?  Then the news media brought to light all the young people who are eating spoonfuls of cinnamon or sniffing and inhaling whip cream, helium and other gases so that they can feel the effects like laughing gas, get high and space out?

It is a perplexing question and one that I probably will not be able to answer, yet I would like to bring some light to the topic in the hopes that those who are listening might in their own way and in their own sphere of influence, have the ability to influence or change the thinking of just one other person who might be preconditioned to choose those experiences. 

I was brought up on the values instilled in me by my father who had some very simple but strong views; use common sense and think before you act were two such principles that he often hammered into our heads.  When we made poor choices, he did not punish us, he simply spoke firmly and with power and strength in his body language as he let us know in no uncertain terms that we disappointed him because we failed to honor and practice the precepts that he taught.  His words of wisdom together with his ability to show us how to be better people, still has an impact on me today. While I had much hurt and pain as a young girl because I felt isolated and not validated, I also how had an inner knowing that I was the one who needed to find the answers within myself and so I did.

What are we searching for—whether as individuals or collectively?  Searching for something more out of life, I believe is healthy and justified; however, many in their search are losing sight of the basic values and principles that will either make them better and stronger human beings or set them up for self-destruction.  I fear that part of the answer lies in the fact that no one, including the children want to be told what to do and how to do it.  They want to experiment by themselves and discover the answers themselves without even thinking of the ramifications.  I also believe that we live in such a fasted pace world and that we, the adults, are not leading by example.  Those who are actually in the sphere of influence within our society are not taking responsibility for their behavior or actions and lead those who are followers to believe that freaky behavior is acceptable and the norm. 

It appears obvious that many believe that they are indestructible and no harm will come to them.  Isolation, too, can play a large part in this scenario, that is, isolation and loneliness due to a disconnect within the family and the community who used to look after the young and are now too preoccupied to even notice them.  So I ask you to please look around your corner of the world and start to take the time to care and share.   We are all a part of the same world family.  I, therefore, believe that we all have not only a right but also a duty to be vigilant as we move about on a daily bases.  Possibly saying a kind word or a pleasant hello to a stranger and especially to the youth of the world just might make all the difference in the world. 

I would like to get your thoughts on this subject.  I invite you to comment.

Joan Marie Ambrose

Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker