I think longevity still is the privilege of few people, although medical science notoriously has been able to extend the average life of the human being.
But when that happens, it is not exempt of many circumstances that make you realize that you do not belong to this time; and that to participate actively right now, you are obliged by the circumstances, to review a lot of ideas, ways of living, concepts and ways to understand life.
You feel obliged to review your values and accept –even not fully understanding— that they have changed. That the human beings of the 21st Century are a different kind of species compared to those of the 20th Century.
They dress differently. They develop a life differently. Their entertainments are other. Their behavior is notoriously other, and the way they think sometimes could make you feel totally out of place.
But you are here, with all the right to be here.
It is not fair that you could feel a pariah amid a totally different environment.
There is an elemental need to adopt and adapt.
"It is not easy" you can say. Of course, it is not easy, but if you want to be in peace with the world around you, you will have to review customs and habits, accept the habits and the way of being of others, and even the way they think.
They do not revere the past. They want to change the present because their analysis is deep, realistic, and honest. And they discover the hypocritical of nice appearances of the past, in contrast with the current reality. And this is directly related to ideological and political positions.
On the other hand, it could seem that they have no ethics at all but the reality is that they value empathy, solidarity, the respect for the human being. They are less judgemental and more tolerant because we are all human and therefore all fallible. We are not a finished and perfect product, and many times we tend to give room to arrogance thinking that we are better than others, not realizing our deficiencies and faults. Not realizing that we too are imperfect.
The new world demands us humility.
It demands from us to open our arms and embrace humanity as it is and contribute if it is possible to enjoy a relationship of peace with others.
We were born in a world without TV, without electrical frigs, with records in 78 RPM, and getting the news from the radio and newspapers.
The airplanes were noisy and slow. The cars were not aerodynamic. Microphones didn’t sound so well, the speakers were big and heavy.
Professional photographers needed a camera or considerable dimensions and magnesium to produce a flash that could help taking images of a feast or a meeting.
Horses were of use for many purposes.
Weighing scales were nothing precise, using at-hand weights.
Boys played with marbles and spinning-tops, and wear short pants until they were fourteen or fifteen years old. And at that same age, girls still played with dolls and with jacks.
Men used hats and smoked exceedingly.
Salaries were inadequate, and people, in general, were conforming to a simple life.
Living today in a digital world, of immediate communications, with satellites, with men living in Space, a big the demand of talents, cyber people inventing permanently gadgets, and a different way of living is a real revolution.
Either we adapt to this revolution or succumb.
I have taken the not easy decision to adapt myself. After all, I am here and this is my world too!.
Milton W. Hourcade
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