Younger folk are taking the lead in simple life

Hello everyone!  I'm still having problems with my computer and will probably have to take it back to the technician later today. I hope to carry on using Hanno's computer so my aim is to continue on tomorrow, as usual.

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I read this very interesting article in the UK Telegraph recently. It tells us that young people are not as inclined to drink or take drugs now, less inclined to cause trouble when they go out, and more inclined to knit, cook, go to bed early and take care of themselves. The young tend to be more conservative and are more helpful than we are, "we" being those in our older years. I love that they are more helpful and hope they learned from our mistakes, although my guess is that common sense and economic reasons have more to do with it.

This is a little kerosine lamp I bought while I was away. I came across a small antique shop in Glenn Innes, went in looked around, and there she was waiting for me. And the asking price? $25. :- )

The other thing I found really interesting was that yellow line in the data. There are more over 65s drinking, more than the under 34s! The age group 45 - 64 has the highest percentage of sexually transmitted disease!  Good grief.

We're the elders, we're supposed to be guiding and encouraging. We should be the ones handing on the stories and family history. Authentic family history and stories must be truthful and really reflect the history of the family. Elder duties are best served sober with the ability to answer questions, motivate and, hopefully, inspire. I'm not saying everyone over 60 should be sitting around knitting on the verandah (although I will be) but we should be doing something to help those younger than us live well. We should be role models.

From the linked article: We are increasingly polite: one government survey found that those born in the early 1990s are less rude and noisy in public than previous cohorts at the same age. We’re more likely than the over-55s to give to charity or volunteer.

While there is an element of the pendulum swinging back to the 40s and 50s in all this, which was something I expected would eventually happen, I didn't expect to see it happen this soon.

As the article indicates, the young are rebelling against rebelling. I majored in rebelling when I was in my teens and 20s. I had a good few years of doing, saying and being what I chose to be, regardless of the consequences. But then my children changed me. Of all the things I'd ever been, I was never a hypocrit or a liar so when Shane and Kerry were born, I turned the leaf over and started my life as a decent parent and (I hope) a good role model.

I don't see a reason for that to change now. I have grandchildren who will look to me for guidance - maybe not so much of the verbal kind but I certainly want to be a grandma they're all proud of. I want them to see me living the life I have chosen and not just talking (or writing) about it. I want them to look back and remember me as a kind and generous person who taught them about gardening and cooking and how to carry eggs, and to not be afraid of spiders. I want teach them there are good bugs and bad bugs, just as there are good and bad people, and help them develop the ability to tell the difference.

Young adults have found the contentment of knitting, cooking and being comfortable in their homes very early when it took my age group much longer to find that simple type of happiness. Instead of us being role models, maybe we should be looking at our younger folk and start wondering why they see the value in the quiet and slow and we don't. I hope they lead the way to a new kind of modern life, one in which shopping and debt don't play such a big role.  I know I have a lot of young readers because I get a lot of emails from them telling me what they're doing and the dreams they have for themselves. Maybe some of them will comment here today and tell us why it was easier than it was for the rest of us for them to choose simplicity over consumerism.