No Boundaries On The Outside

Are we really going through a new kind of fight that our parents or grandparents never had to face? I remain skeptical although I am totally with TheGreatNamwen, when he writes about our boundless interconnection and immense freedom.

The generation before us had to struggle for the way they wanted to live their lives. The generation of flower power basically felt restrained by society and some found that it was time to resist and do what they could to lift the chains that held them.
Today, all those political and societal struggles have found their place in the past and many of the old flower children have become politicians, policemen and lawyers. The society that they brought their children up in is different in a whole lot of ways, though not in every way, from the one they knew.
If our parents felt more connected to the "establishment" or to the newfound "freedom", they never experienced today's world of endless possibilities as absolutely naturally given like we do. We grew up thinking that it was absolutely right to get a car for your 16th, respectively 18th birthday. We knew how to handle a computer before we had to first apply for a job that required those skills. We know we can get any (and we really do mean ANY) kind of information within a few clicks.
Now we are in a situation where there are no clear rules anymore. We can choose to have sex in Thailand or marry gay in Germany. We can go whale hunting in Japan or protest against it on a Green Peace ship.

Where do you want to go today?

There are very few things restraining us, and by US I mean the kind of people that are reading blogs which in itself already has some preconditions. We should feel privileged by our unique position and yet we are overwhelmed and helpless, restless and stressed, procrastinating and wondering about the right decisions because every decision is ruling out endless possibilities we could have had.

I feel that the only way to face this obvious overflow of possibilities is to give yourself into the flow of life. There seems to be much wisdom in the words of this mom that where we are today is the result of the way we have taken. There were some decisions involved and who would say they were bad?! For my part I can say that if my decisions have lead me here, then I have always made pretty sound decisions. Why is it that I doubt everytime I feel one approaching? Why is it that I doubt decisions already made? Why not leave all this doubting and fear behind?

There is a great book by Eckhart Tolle that I received as a gift and which has since rewarded me with some moments of insight how to leave this suffering behind. Buddhism has a point when it talks about this as the ultimate aim, to get rid of the human suffering and distance ourselves from the rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts. That is never to say that you don't feel or think anymore, but that you have the control and distance to know that all that cannot hurt your true core. I have experienced this and practice every day.
Maybe we can help each other, because we are all on this inner road together...