Normally when I make movie recommendations, it is to rent a video and watch it at home, typically for some “therapeutic” value. Let’s face it – watching movies on the big screen costs a fortune these days, and a lot of it is junk. Having said that… You need to Read more…
Check out my Parenting 101 page to see my latest interview and read the Q & A regarding children/adolescents and self-injury.
Parents of adolescents, how many of you enjoy your children’s favorite music – if you can even understand it? I realize there are families in which parents and children enjoy the same musical tastes. However, for many, the choice of music preference can become not only a difference between generations, but even a focal point of major misunderstanding and conflict. I would urge you, as parents, to give serious consideration to what I am sharing today. With the right approach, you can take the huge barrier of your teen’s musical identity and turn it into an open doorway into the deep struggles, hopes, fears, beliefs, and desires lying in the heart and mind of your son or daughter.
Music has always been important to people. It has the power to touch and stir our spirits in a unique and powerful way, giving voice to our inner thoughts and shaping our identities in the process. In modern America, each generation had their music that defined them and expressed their inner selves outwardly for all to hear – much of it commonly shared by the majority of one’s generational peers. However, in postmodern adolescent America, music has become a much more personal expression – with scores of styles, genres, and subgenres available for download. And let’s face it, much of today’s music (but certainly not all!) is distasteful, offensive, or outright disturbing to the parent who can pick out enough words to hear the themes. So, what do you do when confronted with shocking album covers, myspace pages, cds, and downloads?
Apparently I coined a new term a few nights ago through a slip of the tongue. After making some comments in my Bible study group, a couple of people immediately spoke up, saying they like my use of the term “storiented” in reference to our postmodern culture. I didn’t really mean to say it – I guess I just ran “story” and “oriented” together a little, so it sounded like one word. We moved on with our discussion of the Gospel of Mark, and I told them I wasn’t trying to sound clever.
I’ve thought about it several times since then and realized…we do live in a storiented culture. Stories are very important to us. They evoke deep emotion in our hearts. A good story can prompt us to: laugh, cry, shout, believe, remember, imagine, hope, sympathize, blame, forgive, and so much more. Stories open up other worlds of adventure and romance and possibility. Wrongs are righted. True love prevails. Goodhearted heros triumph over sinister villains. Problems are solved. And relationships are restored.
Many of our entertainment choices are very storiented in nature. We keep up with our favorite prime-time dramas or “reality” shows on TV. We enter the story world of a good movie in a dark theater or the privacy of our own surround-sound entertainment room. We lose ourselves in the unfolding narrative of a novel, biography, or other book. Even music, videogames, and web surfing can be about connecting with a story larger than ourselves. We love great stories, and we love to feel that we are, in some way, a part of them.
If approached properly, stories can inspire us to live better lives and build better relationships. (more…)
Humans are wired for connection. We all need relationships – family, romantic, friendships, community, etc. In our constantly changing world of wireless connectivity, we seem to be more connected to more people than ever before. Between cell phones, text messaging, instant messaging, email, blogging, MySpace, Blackberries, and so on, we Read more…