This morning I was thinking about the "Good Ole Days".Days gone by when I was a girl. I lived in the best parish and the best neighbourhood in Jamaica; South St. Elizabeth! I am of course totally entitled to my own biased opinion and since it's the truth anyway?!!
Well I was remembering that 'round about this time of year many of us whose parents were small-holding farmers,had to stay out of school for a couple of weeks,to help with farm work. It was and still is the planting season and every hand was necessary to help. The very survival of the family and the community depended on the harvest. Despite the hard work it was always a good, happy time. There was a feeling of family and community camaraderie that prevailed.
Neighbours helped each other to get the planting done within a set window of time. Children learnt to work together with their parents and we also learnt the importance of taking care of our own to the best of our ability. "Many hands make light work" was a common saying by the old people and it was certainly true in our community. People cared about each other; we shared each others' joys and sorrows,we would laugh together and cry together. Neighbours were usually extended family members anyway and even those who were not,were treated as if they were.
We were not rich in material goods but we were rich in many other ways; ways that mattered most. There was consideration and compassion,there was kindness and kinship,care and concern for even the least among us. There was a bond of family and friendship that tied people together over many generations. It was a community in which decency and good morals were encouraged,poor manners and bad conduct was discouraged,and honor,integrity,respect,and godliness were highly valued.
I wonder what made the difference in our community? Was it because we were a poor farming community and we understood the divine principles of sowing and reaping,of springtime and harvest? Or because so many of our men were fishermen and they shared an awe and appreciation of God's mercies - "they that go down to the sea,witness the power and the glory of the Lord God up close and personal"?
We were a community that confronted life and death as part of the natural process of existence. Children shared in the reality of life experiences. We worked with our parents. We suffered through the loss of crops and the resulting hardships that would follow. The children of the community knew that a father may not return from sea if there were extremely strong winds, a storm or hurricane. We were not shielded from the everyday events that made up a whole life experience. And I believe that these were character-building for all of us.
Today, I am convinced that by and large most of us are strong,determined,hard-working,ambitious and resilient because we were allowed to be an important participant in the real issues and experiences of our community. We were encouraged to be builders of the community in every sense of the word. Understanding and maturity came early to children back then.
Compare that with how things are today. I believe that we now deprive the younger generations of the chance to appreciate and to be fully appreciated for their contribution to family and community by "molly-cuddling" them,way too much. Yes,it is good that we can do "MORE" for our kids in terms of the material provisions we make for them. But by providing everything they ask for whether it is needed or not, without their active contribution or even awareness in many instances of the needs of the family as a unit and the community in which they live as a whole,we do them a disservice.
We are depriving our children of the chance to be the best person that they could become. We ought to wake up to our responsibility; we are letting our children down. We must find ways for our children to have the opportunity to develop sterling characters that will bring honour to God first, to themselves and to their family,community and their country.
Improving on the legacy of our parents is great but if this is at the cost of a moral,caring,sharing,family oriented,community connected society,then we need to start a-weeping and a-wailing for the long gone "Good Ole Days"!! LadyZaidie
Hi Zaidie
ReplyDeleteI save this from the time I got it because I didn't have the time to read it then, I read now and you are so right. I grew up in St. Catherine and I was telling someone The other day
how during planting season each person in the area would get together on Saturday mornings and every one had to give an hand no matter how small or young they were and they would have work day. The families would go help each other until everyones' crop was planted in the area and the same thing when it was time for harvest. The little kids would take water to the man while they work, the persons farm they were workung on that day the wife would cook for the men an the take it to them. I do appreciate those days because it
taught us about caring for each other, how to to help each, looking out for each other and the love of God. These people were not even related to us because our relatives were in St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland we were strangers in this area but this did not stop them from making us feel like we belonged. I do think Kids these days have missed out on a lot because they will never know about that kind of togetherness, the love you acquire for each other and just plain respect. Have a wonderful day. Claudette