Saturday, January 13, 2007

And the beat goes on...

Interesting and sad statistic I heard today: the most common age for death by drug overdose is now around 45 according to The Office of National Drug Control . How sad is that? One more indicator that my generation is continuing its downward spiral that began 40 or so years ago.

A man reaps what he sows.
~Galatians 6:7

We in our generation have sown much that needs to be weeded out. We raised the banner of "if it feels good, do it" and it is continuing to kill us. It is sad that at the age when many of our forebearers (and offspring) were and are fighting for the freedom of their country and raising new families on next to nothing, we were "turning on, tuning in and dropping out".

The fact that many of us are now dying of drug overdoses says a lot about our unformed consciences and our lack of ability to cope. It is an indication that all of us need something outside of ourselves to focus on and work towards, for the inevidable death we will reap is not merely a physical one. And, no matter what our personal situations, we have something--Someone--outside ourselves--God. God is love. He is also justice. He will not be mocked.
For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways."
~Psalm 95:10
Everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must render an account.
~Hebrews 4

2 comments:

Staying in Balance said...

There is always an antecedent to everything, that's true. I heard the theory just recently that the men coming home from WWII wanted nothing more than sameness and security after seeing war. The artificially perfect '50's were born from that need. And, as you say, the 60's were born from *that* need. Each generation has its own "demons" to conquor, I think.

The older I get, the more I think that we cannot look for love outside of our Creator who *is* our "perfect Parent". I treasure my own Catholic faith because we have a perfected family in Heaven--an Almighty Father and a Blessed Mother who love us.

Here on earth, I try to live the Serenity Prayer. (Oops, there goes my generation's affinity for the 12 steps!)

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change
the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Staying in Balance said...

In spite of the fact that current 12 step programs use the term "God as you understand God", originally, it was Judeo-Christian based, as far as I understand.

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

my poetry on the web

Karumi Garden

Karumi Garden
my haiku