Ice Cream..............

First and foremost I want to say my prayers and heartfelt sympathies go out for those in Boston, Mass and West, Texas!  

Now, I want to touch on those who find excuses.  Yup, that is my post today.  I am sick of hearing the excuses.

"I can't because..." and then some lame excuse flows out of their mouth.  I want to shake them, rattle their brains and make them see the only person holding them back is themselves!  Really, it's true.

Think of it this way.  You want something say...an ice cream, just for example.  The ice cream mans truck comes through the neighborhood and you don't make it in time but there is a mini market say a couple of miles down the road.  You really want that ice cream but it's too late since the ice cream man has already come and gone while you were counting your change out. You can whine about the ice cream man leaving before you could get out there or you can put on your shoes and walk a couple miles down the road and get yourself the ice cream that is just as good if not better than what you could have gotten from the ice cream man at the same price. What am I hearing?  Oh, sorry still hearing the whining about being left behind by the ice cream man instead of DOING something about it. Right!  Ok, now let that go, we are now moving on...

Yes, you heard me. That is what I said.  STOP whining.  Why not just suck it up and take plan B? Because that requires WORK!  OMG!!  Yes, real honest to goodness work.  Which to me makes the ice cream that much sweeter, tastier and colder.  However, that isn't what some in the younger generation wants. For some reason they believe that it should be handed to them gift wrapped with a bow and a pony. 

You know it's true.  Why bother to fight it?

The million dollar question is how do we fix it?  We make them work for the ice cream.  Nope, sorry we don't do short cuts.  Work for it.  Take the walk.  Where there is a will there is a way!  You want that creamy cold goodness then you will put your shoes on and you will take the first step.  You will travel those miles and that will make it more sweeter for you, more refreshing, and more satisfying.  

How do we make them work for it?  We don't just give in and give it to them.  Sorry, no I will not chase down the ice cream man and demand he comes back to you.  I will walk with you.  I will cheer you on.  I will ENCOURAGE you, but I will not do it for you.  

So how does this work into writing?  I am so glad you asked.  I have younger people ask questions in groups I belong to all the time.  I love the questions.  I love their thirst for knowledge, but I refuse to just give an answer.  I answer their questions with questions.  I want them to think.  I give them pebbles of knowledge and urge them to chase down those pebbles and make them become rocks, then boulders and finally it's their knowledge.  They worked to find it and that means they will treasure it.  They will remember it.  They will USE it! That is the goal. 

We need those who are willing to work to answer their own questions. Find and treasure those answers, expand upon them, use them and make them their own.  Encourage the younger generation to chase their dreams.  Let them know that they have to work to find the answer but that answer...oh, that answer is well worth it.  How sweet when they come back triumphantly waving that knowledge, sharing it with others that they..THEY found it!  

We need that not just here in America, we need it all over the world.  The independance, the intelligence, the self confidence that they can DO it.  They don't need anyone to hold their hand, they can REASON out a solution, find the answer and grasp that knowledge triumphantly!  We need to allow our younger generations to break sterotypes,  seek out and learn the truth behind everything and everyone.

We don't just need that for ice cream.  We don't just need those truth seekers for future authors.   We need those truth seekers, those hard workers, those self confident individuals in every single aspect of the world today.  If we don't have them I worry what will happen to us when the zombies take over and humanity must fight for life and to rebuild the world again.