The silence in my community

Today I want to write about a different memory - one that is not really a part of my family or myself - however, it is something that may or may not affect my children.

The one thing I'm reminded of on a daily basis - is the ultimate quiet in our community.  In fact its so quiet that I look up when I hear footsteps in the road...

Now, don't get me wrong, this type of silence is really a good thing, however, when I look out at the sound of the footsteps, they are mainly accompanied with the body of a young person just walking around aimlessly - sometimes a group of young men/girls or a mixed group.

The silence may be really great for us that are slightly older (note - I didn't say old!) but for the young people this can be the beginning of the things that we would really want to keep them away from - ie. smoking, planning of unsupervised parties, drugs, experimenting of all sorts of sexual fantasies which ends up in wanted/unwanted pregnancies, which in turn adds to the poverty that so many of our communities suffer.

What can be done about this silence, quiet atmosphere in the community where so many young people are looking for something more than just their thoughts chasing them around in a body that is already suffering during all the changes that take place in a teenage body.  What can prevent them from following in the footsteps of the dark, unknown, but exciting possibilities that are lurking in the next person that is just bored to death and looking for something to take his/her mind off what seems to be a constant pulling from one extreme to the other in his/her mind?

Suddenly I'm reminded that I have a son that is 16 going on 17 and that he constantly speak of his boredom and a thought comes to mind at how I can help out with this.

Lets have a meet and greet to start this change with.  Put out a table with snacks and drinks, some music (not too quiet - perhaps a little wild like rock - just to get them to feel at home?  (It does seem as if all young people listen to this wild wild music - probably not, but from my point of view (Jim Reeves fan LOL) it definitely seems that way!

Lets have gatherings of a different kind - one that will excite the young people - one that will bring the community of young people together on more than one occasion - one that will cancel out the silence, the longing for something other than the constant searching for his/her place within him/herself -  one that at the same time will give the support for these young ones in the world of an unknown teenager life.

From this first meet and greet we can set up a planned get together that will promise fun, a learning curve, a place of self worth, no matter what the background or how financially secure or insecure they are... 

Gatherings of laughter, tears, joy, friendships and who knows, perhaps the start of a community that is silent, but definitely not bored...

At the beach