When we are young, it’s impossible to truly understand how limited our time on this planet really is. And while I don’t consider myself to be particularly old at this point, as I approach 58 this week, I do realize there are fewer years ahead of me than behind, and it feels like it took no time at all to get to this place. 

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The last year has marked the passing of a few significant elders of my parents’ generation, who I have known since my early childhood and whose lives were essentially on the periphery of mine. But where I once viewed them in quite a casual way, I now find myself seeing them in a more whole light, as I am learning about who they were through the eyes of their loved ones.

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As a young person, I did not have the capacity to be so interested in what the adults around me were about; their lives could not possibly have been more fascinating than whatever was going on in my own. We are so egocentric at certain stages - but I also think that is a necessary and important part our development and evolutionary programming. So, if you too imagine you may have been as self-centered as I certainly was in my youth, I hope you don’t harbor any guilt over that. 

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But I do find it fascinating now, to see things so differently from my middle-aged vantage point; to finally possess legitimate interest in their respective stories, and to understand them as byproducts of a different generation. Like any great character we might meet in a novel or bio-pic, as we come to know those who we have been close to better through paying attention to their lived experiences, we also grow in understanding our own lives better.

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As I have been reviewing my life more from this perspective, I consider all who I have known from previous generations. And the most shocking realization I have come to is that in their shoes, I likely would have behaved similarly in certain respects. While I tend to consider myself as somewhat of a rebel and outlier, I now realize that this status is a mark of my deep privilege. Had I been born in a different time and place, being as outspoken about my particular beliefs as I am would have seen me ostracized at best, but more likely strung up or burnt alive. I am blessed and I know it.

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I also realize that being this blessed comes with responsibilities: This is why I speak about life and spirituality (the two being inextricably entwined) in the way that I do and feel compelled to teach on what I know.

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The world is changing – it is forever changing. And the freedoms we enjoy today are not a given for tomorrow. Stepping out and being who I am in truth is a risk, but doing so in my opinion also honours all the sacrifices of my ancestors – those related by blood and in blood.

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If you have something to say and you feel the call to do so, there is no time to waste. I was a child yesterday. I will be dust upon the wind before long. But until that time, I will use my voice and stand up in appreciation for others who do, as well.