Scribbles:Desiderata

A 21st Century Parent's Desiderata

Go placidly amid the hype and spam, and remember what peace is in the block and /ignore commands. As far as possible without surrender make only meaningful comments on blog and video postings.

Speak your truth clearly, but check your privilege; and before you argue about what that means, listen to others and think on what they say. And then think on it a few more times. Do this before every time you hit send or submit or open your mouth.

Avoid feeding the trolls, for they are vexations to the spirit. If you share a factoid or provocative article, read it first and check other references to make sure it is correct. Life, like Wikipedia, requires citations.

Enjoy your unlocked achievements no matter where they occur; they can never be taken from you. Remember that your worth is not based off of those achievements. Nor is the worth of others.

Trust not anything that can be loaded into Photoshop.

Exercise caution in who you pwn; for the world is full of petty people with too much time on their hands. But let not the urge to pwn blind you to your potential to be awesome to others; make room in your life for small acts of heroism.

Be yourself, but remember that everything you do may be posted on YouTube. Learn when best to not let that stop you, when to choose prudence versus living without shame. And remember to check your privacy settings on a regular basis.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, for when you combine that with your own creativity in equal measure, your kung fu will be strong. Respect your elders, when they deserve respect. Question authority, but do it intelligently.

You are not your job. Do not suffer for it unduly; they don't pay you enough for that.

Nurture a thick skin to deal with the opinionated, but do not succumb to the belief that people are bad. Most problems are born of pain, not malice. Compassion should be your well-worn tool.

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. So is every other person you meet. Each and every one of us has a right to be here. Learn to share. And no matter what suffering and indignities you must endure, it will get better. Pain is not infinite, and you can survive to see better days. Don't give up.

Therefore, go into the world and be awesome. Accept that there will be mindless busy work, that there will be tragedy and there will be times when you fail. But get up and try again. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. And you are a part of it. Be excellent to one another. And party on, dude.