The Power of Listening 

Can the new generation avoid the mistakes made by the older ones?

Considering the fact, that it is generally believed humans are the most intelligent form of life inhabiting the Earth, one would think we are able to avoid the blunders our ancestors have done in the past. As the time goes and we gain knowledge from the history, we should be less likely to make those mistakes and, on the contrary, more likely to grow wiser. Today, young people have far more possibilities to learn about the events that happened in the past and and to learn their lesson from the mistakes of older generations. It seems quite simple, doesn't it? Well, why don't we do it, then?

In my opinion, the new generations have the opportunity to learn from the horrible incidents, errors and atrocities perpetrated in the past, but they are not willing to. These days, it's very common to see the youngsters following the saying Mind your own business. Not caring about the others, focusing on yourself and being interested only in your own life, that's the lifestyle one can notice is becoming more and more popular among the people. Why, you may ask...

Firstly, it takes time to actually listen to our elders and to hear the stories they have to tell. We would have to stop for a while, perhaps even turn off our mobile phones, and make the time to talk with them. So we try to convince ourselves, that the older generations wouldn't want to hold forth on what they've experienced, to wax lyrical about their lives. However, in reality, I've never met an elderly person, who would mind discussing the events that influenced his or hers life.

Secondly, as I've mentioned before, even though the last few decades were for sure full of great and exciting moments, life in the past has never been all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes it is hard to hear what we, as a humankind, have done in the past, what iniquities we've committed. It's far more pleasant and easy to just pretend that nothing happened and people have always been nice and kind to each other than to actually recognize the fact that humans are not perfect.

In my opinion, the key point to solving this problem and avoiding the mistakes older generations have done before our time, is to listen to others. I admit that an evening spent with your grandmother may not be as much fun as a party with friends, but try it. Perhaps you will be surprised by how much they have to tell and how much you can learn and benefit from their stories. By not listening to the elders, we are behaving to the detriment of our own lives - our grandparents or even parents are sparkling with advice, brimming with experiences, ready to give them away. But we do not care, we do not listen and we are becoming more and more indifferent towards others. What a shame...

Altogether, I believe people in general should be more open to one another and try to listen to each other more. Perhaps it's the time we live in, the chaos and rush of the present day, that erases all attachments and bonds, all the concerns about others. We are used to focus only on the future and therefore we forget to think about the past as well. So, here's my suggestion - stop for a second and listen. You might be surprised by what you can learn.

Barbora Trnková