I had no need for adrenaline.
Ask any baby boomer.
Instead of conceptual depression, we had residual hypertension. I remember sleeping without bath just because I was bone-tired but joyfully-intoxicated from outside-play.
Home-made kites soared. Boats crafted from rubber flip-flops sailed. Guerrilla war-games were funded through wooden craps. Tin cans were treasured targets. Marbles filled the street tee-golf.
Oh, those days ... meals were missed just because of a universe offering unlimited glee. Creativity pulsated without boundaries.
I never stayed inside the house. Why should I? My bicycle won't let me. I was on to exploration the moment I rouse.
Those were the days ...
And now these days ...
With a current population of more than 23 million and growing, the Generation Z (born 1995-2012) are demonstrating a mind-boggling diversity. The intelligence of this batch is wild.
No wonder Steve Jobs had to raise his own fence.
Our marijuana was extreme sweat and dirty feet. Today's little tykes are into technological heroin. New York Times reporter Nick Bilton once assumed to have asked Jobs:
"So your kids must love the iPad?"
His response was quick:
"They haven't used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home."
It is interesting that a trending preference among tech executives and engineers has been observed: their kids are sent to non-tech schools like the Waldorf School in Los Altos, where no computers are seen. The curriculum serves only focal hands-on learning.
I know it is not wise to judge these trends based on my personal bias. Who is to say that my crude outside glee was better? Opinions are always subjective and fleeting.
My anchor has been altered by the image set by Scriptures. I read about the necessity to train up a child according to the sacred blueprint implanted by God's wisdom.
I do things differently and I am told that this was not an accident. If I pay close attention to the craftsmanship of my Maker, I will not find a clue, not even a manual. I will awaken to a clear voice that tells me how fearfully and wonderfully I had been made.
I guess it has nothing to do with Gen X or Gen A. It has everything to do with what Steve Jobs had keenly seen: boundaries based on wisdom are non-negotiable anchors.
The question is therefore about the peg. Who holds my parameters? It is either the internal chip or the external blip. These won't both work, if the Bible truly holds water.
There is only one path that guarantees wisdom. It is devoid of an OS. It does not even have a play-space. It is not an IT. It is not some farm-playground.
The path is a Person. His name is Wonder. Wonderful Counselor.
He knows where we ought to go and not to.
photography: Paul Supelana