An open letter to young people -- to all people

I just composed a letter to my niece, a lovely 24-year old woman, who is following an untraditional path (at least for the fast-paced 21st century) and it strikes me that we humans have gotten it all wrong. Or much of it anyway.

Historically, we may have gone off the rails about the time of the industrial revolution. I'm certainly no socio-whatever-expert, but that hasn't stopped me from developing more than a few opinions on the topic of humanity, rationalism and consumerism.

(Not that I would turn my nose up at a great pair of pumps or a richly-coloured hangbag.)

That said, and the shot at my own limitations notwithstanding, it seems to me that we just need to SLOW DOWN. Take a breath. Smell the roses or whatever else it is that turns our individual cranks and that we might want to smell. Could it be that after years of eschewing clichés, that the clichés had it right all along?

Some of you may have tuned into Oprah last week when she unveiled The Secret. The Secret is the 2,500 year old belief in karma. Yes, a little tip of the hat to Hinduism and Buddhism would be in order. Basically, what goes around, comes around or, if you send out negative messages, negative things will befall you.

Apparently, if the show's advertising is to be believed, people have gone crazy over the information from that segment.

It appears that we can't help our consumerist-selves. If we decide to evaluate our reliance on things to make us happy, and to place more emphasis on inner growth, we begin to gobble up philosophies in much the same manner that we shopped. Our appetite for the silver-bullet of happiness is frighteningly voracious. But we want our beliefs packaged for us. It has to come in a dust-jacket or on a DVD, and it better have no more than 10 steps (give or take.)Even in our quest for meaning, we go about it superficially.

Calm down, everyone.

The Secret isn't much of a secret, at least it doesn't seem so to me.

We just need to get back to a more humane existance. Some would say to faith. Our faith needn't be explained by science, but it should be something that sustains us. Each of us, individually. Whatever works for each of us.

It is the timeworn story of following your own path and learning to accept ourselves and each other for who we are.

Be kind. Be gentle. Leave the world a better place than it was when you entered it in one way. Just one way.

How about it?