Big Kids

As you know... I'm a very careful observer of EVERYTHING, especially people. Since I have been an adult for a few years now, I can kind of gauge what actions seem to be "adult-like" and those that seem more "child-like".

If you read a book called Born to Win by some psychologists whose names I cannot recall at the moment, you will see a theory that claims that each of our psyches is a combination of three ego states: The Child, The Parent and The Adult. The Child is the obvious ego state, this is when we are most curious and apt to try new things just to see what they are like simply because we feel like it. The Parent is the learned set of actions we learn, as children, from the adults in our lives... which is why most of us grow up to be our parents since they are the most abundant examples of how to be an adult. We mimic those actions because as a child we learn what these actions elicit from others and how they help (or don't help) us navigate through life. The Adult ego state is the only one that is constantly changing. The Adult ego state is the one where we take in information, run it through our memory banks for any previous experience of a similar type and then make a conscious decision to act.

The book says that we remain in one ego state more than the others, unless you are the ultimate measure of a well-adjusted person (but who REALLY is?). The more I observe adults and children (anyone under 18), the more I want to ask the question: Do we really ever grow up? Or are we just physically mature kids? We (myself included) seem to be stuck in the child ego state, reflecting the Parent ego state from time to time, but most of us just react through instinct (the combination of those egos), rather than waiting to act. I must say that I'm guilty as well. As a child, I was always into going outside and being in nature, I wanted to be a musician and I loved science (the study of nature). Today, my profession is in research science, I recently bought equipment to perform and record music, and I always look for ways to get out into the natural world (I'm currently planning a hunting trip with my Father). I react internally as my Child and Parent ego states would dictate, but my discipline as a scientist and as a former martial artist lead me to use my Adult ego state quite often. However, when I observe other adults, they seem to act like kids or kids who are mimicking what their parent did. I'm not sure if I am on to something here or I just think that many of my older counterparts are just immature, but the next time you are around your parents or some older adults, take a minute and step outside of the situation to look at how they act and react. It is said that for the most part we don't learn much (about how to survive) outside of what we learn as children (you can find sources in any Psych journal, as I did), but if that's true, we probably are just BIG KIDS.

On another note... All these people are dying from day to day. Now, I know that millions of people die everyday, but something seems different about this time and the rate of deaths... Are we really moving into a new Procession of Equinoxes (end of an age)? I think that's what the Bible story of the Exodus and subsequent establishment of Hebrews in the Middle East is implying with the deaths of all the adults older than a certain age (I think it was 40). I hope I'm wrong, because that would have implications with my own parents, and I don't think I could handle them not being around. On the other hand, I'm sure some of these so-called Piscean age folk will make it past December 21, 2012. I just hope my family is part of that group.

Have a great weekend!

Peace.