Comments on: A Lament For Childhood

By: Pat

Pat — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:12:57 +0000

@ian — Seems like there are almost too many ideas worth pursuing lately, but hey, I’ll definitely put it on the short-list!

Oh, and this is the best explanation of the book:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/26/stephane-hessel-93-french-bestseller

Goes on sale in Canada in a few days! I’m feeling givish — Assuming you’re bilingual, what’s your mailing address? No reason.

By: Ian MacKenzie

Ian MacKenzie — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:02:14 +0000

@patrick – i like the idea of the encyclopedia… perhaps an idea to pursue Also have not heard of “Indignez-Vous” what’s it about?

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:07:48 +0000

Thanks Ian. As important as it is to share the happier moments, we need these too. Not in some masochistic and misplaced need for self-flagellation, but because it’s balancing.

Maybe we need a platform for these sorts of things. A sort of Encyclopedia of Beautiful Sorrows — a catalog of things that make us feel, whatever they might be: A manifesto of tempered fury; a photo-essay on the Haitian earthquake; a comment on Reddit; whatever.

Oh, and hey — your quote from Ascent of Humanity reminded me: Picking up a copy of “Indignez-Vous!”?

By: 2010 – My Year In Visuals » Ian MacKenzie – Vancouver Filmmaker

2010 – My Year In Visuals » Ian MacKenzie – Vancouver Filmmaker — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 02:36:46 +0000

[...] while reading Eisenstein’s ‘The Ascent of Humanity.’ The emotion culminated in A Lament for Childhood. As I look back, I realize how important this was for my ability to look into society’s [...]

By: Madeleine Somerville

Madeleine Somerville — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:15:08 +0000

oh Ian, well said my friend. I see this exaggerated to an extreme with the at-risk youth I work with. Rather than being over-pressured in academics or over-scheduled, they are thrust into an adult world of responsiblity before they are even teenagers. Worrying about where the rent is going to come from, whether mom is sober today, who to steal from to get food money. It sounds cliched at times until you meet each youth and actually see it. They are living in pure survival mode, they have never experienced enough, let alone plenty. They don’t know how to play, how to have fun. They retreat into anger, they throw the game board, cause scenes and get asked to leave the out trip, they are seemingly incapable of letting go.

By: joshywashington

joshywashington — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:14:00 +0000

I am a little late to the game on this post.
I used to take people’s assertion that i hadn’t “grown up’ as a downer, that i wasn’t fulfilling some role I was suppose to grow into.
Parent teacher conferences; Josh is in his own world.

I realized in the last few years that my imagination, a whole world that swirls in my head, is perhaps my greatest asset.

great post.

By: Christine Garvin

Christine Garvin — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:06:06 +0000

Ian,

I think you probably already know that these thoughts line up with my own, and I feel lucky that these realizations came at a relatively young age for me, though the lessons came via a tough path. Nonetheless, I’m so happy to see more and more peers waking up to these truths, and I hope this ripples through to teenagers and kids beyond, which I think will correspond with a rampant downgrade of depression and addiction.

I also read this through the eyes of something I’m going through at the moment which isn’t about career, and yet is another monumental life truth. It just made me realize that our soul’s purpose in every respect, whether that is career, love, place, or creative force, has its divine purpose and to run from that is to run from the self.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:35:25 +0000

Thanks for sharing this Ian. I had a great conversation earlier this year with my dad, who admitted that my choice not to pursue ‘the American dream’ of a house, 2.3 kids and a steady job really sent him into a tizzy at first, but now he’s able to see that my husband and I are doing what we enjoy and that we have different goals and aspirations. It was such a joy to see him come to this turning point and to really be happy for Duarte and I rather than anxious.

This came at a good time, as this weekend I was grappling with a decision about school/work for next year. Thanks for reminding me about what really matters.

By: I want to see how it ends. — Carlo Alcos

I want to see how it ends. — Carlo Alcos — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:20:21 +0000

[...] Mackenzie, editor at Brave New Traveler, just posted A Lament for Childhood. Which was quite amazing given the timing. It’s something that has been right at the [...]

By: Lola

Lola — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:29:43 +0000

Thank you Ian!

I totally connect with this post on so many levels.

For one, I connect with the deeper thought that we’re meant for an “amazing, divine purpose.”

And as such, I make my daily personal choices based on this truth.

“You have the power to withdraw, not through the unconscious mechanisms of laziness, depression or suicide, but consciously, mindfully.”

Again, speaks to me on so many levels. The conscious stepping-back (for lack for a better word) from situations, conversations, and chitchat that truly distract from one’s purpose in life.

I’m so happy you wrote this. Truly.