Youth is the Hope of the Future
The faces of young people are reflections of our past, are symbolized in our present, and express our programmed future and destiny. Perhaps that's why many children today are born outside of the lines we colored in the past, considered to be the norm in another timeline. Their worries are not unlike ours were, but perhaps they are intuiting a different outcome.
One of the main focuses for students today is gun legislation. I have four grandchildren in High School - Giovani (Senior in AZ), Dylan (Junior in NJ), Joie (freshman in AZ) and Matthew (Freshman in CT). I often wonder what they are thinking, feeling and discussing with families, friends, and teachers perhaps in reference to their own school safety or whether they are motivated to make a permanent change in gun control legislation. Matthew remembers the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in 2012, at a neighboring elementary school when his school was on lock down for hours and his parents worried.
Giovanni is the most politically motivated of my grandchildren, voicing strong concerns about the political climate not only for him but for his generation. He graduates high school in May then goes to university to study cyber security. His conversations are like speaking with an adult who has done his homework and focuses on change. His symbol is the falcon (he drew the pic above) - a solar emblem for success, victory and rising above a situation. The falcon was symbolic of the rising sun in Egypt. It is also the king of all birds where many gods were shown with the head or body of the Falcon (including Ra).
As a former high school teacher, I cannot tell you how proud I am of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students from Parkland, Florida who are taking a stand against gun legislation. We have always been a country of protest but due to social media they continue with greater clarity and hopefully less violence. In states beside Florida, students are protesting to create change and because they are young they feel they will get the job done where adults before them failed. At the very least they hope to make a dent in gun control legislation.
Escorted by teachers and parent chaperones, survivors of the Florida school shooting, that occurred one week ago today, have traveled to the state capital to press lawmakers to take action on gun control becoming advocates for gun reform. The world stage is theirs and they will use it wisely. About 100 students arrived in Tallahassee hours before the state legislature rejected a ban on assault rifles like the one used in the attack. They are due to stage an organized rally at the statehouse later today and talk with legislators. Trump is expected to hold a 'listening session' with students and teachers later today.
As part of the social media generation who have never known a world without mass shootings, the teen survivors of the shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are uniquely positioned to become the leading voices in the gun debate. "I"m not going to let these politicians keep murdering my friends. How can we let these people stay in power if they're just trying to save themselves?" said David Hogg, 17, who was learning about special interest groups in his AP Government class. In the aftermath of America's worst mass shooting at a high school, Hogg and many of his classmates have put those lessons to work becoming vocal advocates for gun reform and against the NRA.
Tuesday night, I watched an interview with another students on his way to Tallahassee. "I was born in an age where mass school shootings had already begun and are becoming more frequent. Because I've had to deal with this my entire life, I know it has to stop. When you lose somebody you care about in a situation like this, that loss motivates you enough to become part of the change. Every day I am reminded of my fellow students and teachers who died, or were wounded, therefore I will not falter. My friends and fellow students are not here about banning guns, but for stronger background checks." In my opinion, background checks should not only be coming into focus now but should have always been part of the equation.
Every generation, as far back as I can remember, has taken a stand on one thing or another, sometimes making a difference and other times not. The young people are the ones who rise up, usually it's more at college age but since high school campuses are under attack, this generation seems programmed to make a difference and save lives. There are many factors in their lives, including tech and social media, that bring them to the world stage much earlier than past generations. Bravo and good luck.
Fun With Facials
My granddaughter Joie and her friend Kara having fun with facial masks
Tuesday morning I watched the ladies from the Today show, on location at the winter Olympics, demonstrate Korean facial masks made from natural products. Personally I have never tried a facial though the opportunity presented itself many times in the past. I think I'm different than most people, mainly women, in that I don't get involved with healthcare regimes that most enjoy and engage in. I'm not saying they don't work, I'm just saying they are not for me. I have clients and friends who are estheticians - someone who deals with beauty and skin care - and yet I never engaged in their services when offered.
The purposes of facial masks vary from deep-cleansing, to healing acne scars or hyper-pigmentation, to illumination of skin tone ... Ellie thinking about it then remembering that a women she met Monday complimented her skin ... that was nice of her especially at my age. I've never considered cosmetic surgery. Botox? I've seen how beautiful it makes some women look but it's still creepy to me. I know a man who had his forehead botoxed and somehow it affected his vision. I'm sure he's the exception. Another women got migraine headaches and yet somebody else said it helped migraines. Go figure! Once you start I don't believe you can stop.
Last year saw a huge surge in facial masks made from ... natural products, clay which is said to draw out impurities, sheet masks in which a paper mask is dampened with liquid to tone and moisturize the skin, vegetables, mud, charcoal, lace, rubber, peel-off masks, and even glow masks that come in shades of silver and gold, among others. Just thinking about it makes my skin cringe.
To me it's all about making money, and as with products created by Goop, makes no sense to me. People have always found ways to combine healing with metaphysical products and lingo that for some reason come as dysfunctional to me. Take for example the term, "Conscious Uncoupling". A divorce is a divorce and goes to the psychological background of the people involved ... nothing more. Then there's this whole thing about mindfulness ... another term for those who psychologically need to find a way to focus their minds because they might have ADD or something else that prevents them from making decisions. I don't know why the things people do in metaphysics really turned me off, but they do Maybe it's because I know that everything that happens is based on the way we are programmed. It's that simple. Ah ... that's what it is. I like to keep things simple. OK ... I should respect the fact that people go to metaphysical healing to find answers and that's all part of their equation.
As to using or playing with a facial mask like Joie and her friend ... it doesn't a..peal.
Fifteen new genes identified that shape our face
