The anthropologist within each of us has observed levels of human maturity from one tipping point to the other in society from the shock of manipulating leadership and youth displaying wisdom beyond their years to the pleasing expectation of accountability in normal adults. We see the need for appropriate maturity in daily life from the very young to the very old. We often immaturely expect and even require elements of maturity inappropriate to the situation. Like first graders staying in their chairs most of the day and being told to act like adults. A great response to this problem is what the administration of my kids school did when they removed all the chairs from the classrooms and replaced them with balance balls that the kids did a lot of bouncing, rolling and falling off of. The Mrs. Umbridges of the world were appalled and discussed but our little school was at the top of the State and won the most prestigious awards… and oh yes we still said the pledge of allegiance each morning as all students and teachers met in the cafeteria.
Maturity is a most fascinating subject open to interpretation by the immature, spoken of mostly by the immature, used as a point of argument between two immature parties and seldom improved upon because of self interest by those who need it the most.
When the child is young drawing with Crayola imitating their written name they often naturally display college level artistic observance by writing the letters backwards, forwards, inverted and in other ways that express the fact that they see the elements of shape as they may be and not as they have been socially accepted as correct to represent a particular letter. This shows a level of appropriate maturity for the child’s development. But not socially accepted by immature adults sadly many of them found in the educational system destroying the natural healthy creative behavior of the young person because of inefficiency and a host of other reasons we shall discuss in other articles. Maturity is seldom looked at closely today it is just expected, admired, sought after, argued about and misunderstood.
Our schools require art appreciation, music appreciation, physical education, western civilization, which are counter intuitive because all… yes 100% of the children in my observation already love and participate in these things extensively and naturally…. (but again a subject for another time) But we don’t require even a discussion let alone a class about human maturity. Maturity is the thing that makes the adults adults. It is the thing that makes successful people successful. It is the thing that makes Good leaders good leaders. maturity makes the sages sages and the statesmen statesmen. Human maturity makes parents superb parents. It makes buisnesses thrive because of mature business owners. it makes nations wealthy because of great leadership. It is the force that checks the cause of problems. It is the policeman that enforces good behavior. it is the rescue team that by it’s presence gives confidence to the athletes attempt at the impossible whereby human limitations are transformed into human excellence. Education is only as important as the maturity that parallels it. In fact education with immaturity creates tyrants, and oppressive rulers whose impact on society is inexpressibly sorrowful.
Societal problems are many and the issues of the day will never be agreed upon and the immature will continue to argue them as they have done for as far back as there have been people on the face of the earth. We the individual person must take a stand for maturity. Each, nearly 8 billion of us, must make a choice for maturity. Change starts with choosing. I will choose this day to be mature! In so doing I have changed the world. In so doing I have changed my life forever beyond my comprehension and beyond my current understanding. In so choosing I have ensured happiness, peace, and prosperity within my soul. I am no longer a victim of circumstance at the mercy of others and their choices by choosing this the most noble of choices in human existence, the choice of maturity. I am as free as all humans are to make this choice and to bridge the canyon from I cant, to I can, from It is too hard, to I have the strength, from its not my fault, to I will endure, from who will help me, to what do I need to do, from childish, to childlike, from animal, to human, from immaturity, to maturity from mediocrity to human excellence. I am capable by the very nature of what I am able to choose to become whatever my mind is capable of imagining for my welfare. It all hinges upon a single choice of maturity or immaturity. Now choose ye this day whom ye will serve…
Maturity now chosen must be understood to be valuable. Open to interpretation as it is maturity is only as good as it’s ability to govern it’s laws of influence. In it’s simplest form maturity is defined as the ability to make the best choice in a given circumstance. But it has been by sad experience that the family of man has learned that hindsight is 20/20 but unfortunately it is not available. Thus we find it a requirement that we must take a closer look at the meaning of maturity and our personal relationship to it.
There are ten elements of human maturity that clearly define the power found in the great people who are known to possess it. The first five are found in children and unfortunately some societies, trying to accomplish a goal, extinguish some or all of these things. The second five are learned or by all means should be as part of our educational experience. The man and woman who is possessed of all ten of these elements display great power, are unstoppable in their pursuits, are loved by many, do great good in their communities, have a fullness of joy in their personal lives and are envied by the immature.
These elements are simple things we have heard all of our lives and alone they are important but tied together they form a synergistic bond of incredible super power we call maturity They are first Innocence, Humility, Simplicity, Faith, Love. And second Wisdom, leadership, Accountability, Dependability, and self-mastery.
The person who chooses excellence will ponder deeply these ten common things. They will look deep into their self image and find the lacking areas of their own soul. They will purge from deep within themself the blame, the hate, the self pity, the obedience to false beliefs and the withholding of themselves. They will emerge from such a journey deep into the caves and shafts of their most inner secrets and hidden designs as a new creature who is willing to give, to share, to enjoy, to laugh, to weep, to pray, to sing, to run, to leap, to work and to love. They will see the world as a child sees the playground, as the artist sees the landscape, as the carpenter sees the lumber, as the farmer sees the seeds, as the herdsman sees the pasture and as the shepherds sees his flock. Worry will be a thing of the past and hope will fill their soul.
