Childhood Values

Yesterday I had a realization-well actually many realizations. But I realized that part of the current wastefulness/rudeness issue stems from my generation choosing to disregard many of the lessons we were taught as children.

This thought pattern initially started a week or so back when I dropped my camera on the floor. This is the camera that is less than a year old, and my initial thought was, "oh well, i dropped it." I'm not sure if this thought stemmed from my not attributing complete meaning to material goods, but lately I wondered if I didn't care because really I could go out and at some point buy another camera. Thinking about all of this, I realized that as a child, I was taught to take much better care of objects. If I would have dropped the family camera back then, I would have been in a lot more trouble and gotten a lecture about the value of taking care of expensive goods.

Yet how often in our throw away society do we really try to take the best care of our items? We see this lack of value being demonstrated as people ruin multiple goods, their bodies, and the Earth. Now I'm not a proponent of placing un-necessary priority on material goods, but I do feel that taking better care of (along with the creation of longer lasting) goods could prevent a good portion of the waste we create.

Another thought that came up yesterday in conversation with my cousin pertains to appropriate respect for others. How lax our society has become! While certain traditions only increase burdens and waste, some courtesies are ones that I miss. In my opinion, it is proper to give respect when respect is due. As a (military) child I was taught to use appropriate attire and communication when interacting with others, and I would still prefer to do so in the professional world. I believe in calling the elderly by titles such as sir or ma'am. I believe in modest dress while working. I believe in professional emails and greetings when setting up meetings or requesting employment. I feel that pleasantries can be useful and professionalism decreases pettiness. How sad that so many other adults do not feel the same. How have we lost so many of the values instilled in us by an older generation?

One additional "tradition" that has been passed through our family is also a "repurposing" of sorts. I'm not quite sure where it started, but somehow an ugly carnival gift has made its way into the exchanged gifts of our family members for decades now. The gag gift has now been infiltrated from our parents generation into that of us cousins, and today it was passed on to me via a thank you gift from my cousin. I kept wondering why it was so important to her to give me a gift for watering their plants while they were gone, and then I was instructed not to open it until I got home. And there beautifully wrapped and placed in a bag with a grocery gift card, I found it....the (now) dismantled-kept-together-in-a-ziploc-bag monkey. I wonder who I can pass it on to next.....although my sister and I already thought of a much needed gift for one member of the family. Somehow I don't plan to hang onto this thing for the same amount of time as my cousin! :-) However, if you're family and reading this, let's keep my having this beauty a secret amongst us...

For your benefit, here he is, taken out of the plastic and all: