Have you heard of Martin Shaw? He wrote the following:
“It’s as if adolescence is a moment when a wave is higher than usual, when some power makes it crest, peak at a point where far off views are seen, other vistas, not just the churning sea. Dreams are more vivid, possibilities are endless. A healthy community catches that moment, and allows a container both for its power and impact as the wave crashes down again. Initiation matches the upsurge of energy by offering something of equal magnitude, a sense of appointment in life.
...
The sobriety of this mishandling means that the wild parts of us become segregated, marginalised, or only appear when we’re drunk. Wild consciousness gets limited to an AC/DC record, a survival skills workshop, a one-night stand. Rock’n’Roll holds that wildness for many of us: I love it myself, but its obsession with youth points towards boys and girls who remain uninitiated, whose perception of wildness cannot grow with time”
That is awesome. Adolescence is such an important and fragile time that most people ignore. It's not a 'make or break' kind of thing, per se, but it does certainly set the framework for one's life. We teach people to kill that wild energy they have instead of channeling it positively.
I love this.
Have you heard of Martin Shaw? He wrote the following:
“It’s as if adolescence is a moment when a wave is higher than usual, when some power makes it crest, peak at a point where far off views are seen, other vistas, not just the churning sea. Dreams are more vivid, possibilities are endless. A healthy community catches that moment, and allows a container both for its power and impact as the wave crashes down again. Initiation matches the upsurge of energy by offering something of equal magnitude, a sense of appointment in life.
...
The sobriety of this mishandling means that the wild parts of us become segregated, marginalised, or only appear when we’re drunk. Wild consciousness gets limited to an AC/DC record, a survival skills workshop, a one-night stand. Rock’n’Roll holds that wildness for many of us: I love it myself, but its obsession with youth points towards boys and girls who remain uninitiated, whose perception of wildness cannot grow with time”
That is awesome. Adolescence is such an important and fragile time that most people ignore. It's not a 'make or break' kind of thing, per se, but it does certainly set the framework for one's life. We teach people to kill that wild energy they have instead of channeling it positively.
I'm glad you enjoyed this essay!
Military history is a very useful topic. It's good that you got into it from an early age.
> (Oh, and I no longer dress like a bootleg Victorian, in case you were wondering.)
That's the anticlimax, not the rose tea.
Now I look like a bootleg Ralph Lauren ad. Maybe I should return to my roots.