96. Tomorrow Is Not Written
A new song arose from the Kaleidoscope Summer Camp. It came in response to a need that appeared in the young teen participants as the week unfolded.
The need is a deep cry from the lives of young people to have real hope for the future.
When you ask young lives: What do you think about the future? What does the future mean to you? What are your hopes for the future? You get a range of responses…
The general lack of inspiration and imagination in response to these questions is concerning, even surprising. Since childhood I’ve always believed and held hope about the future. Even in the face of futility or dismay, forward looking inspiration consistently rebounds. But the uplift is conspicuously absent in the responses I’ve witnessed, even from adults.
It truly seems that young people have inherited a world where the balances between hope and despair have shifted. This perception is not without substantiation. Cynicism and complaint prevail in the grown up media. The dominant models for just about everything are crumbling into obsolescence.
But cynicism is abdication; and complaint is avoidance of self responsibility.
Examples of human leadership these are NOT!
The youth of the ‘western world’ by and large, have their basic needs covered. They are not starving. Water is clean and accessible. They do not live under the threat of ethnic, military or political tyranny. They enjoy a range of ‘rights’ and ‘freedoms’ including a public education system that, for all its shortcomings, continues to be a model for the world. They mostly live in very decent circumstances compared to much of the world… And yet, they look to the future with a dismal lack of vision and optimism! To me, this is a tragedy.
So a new song was born with the help of a gang of 12 and 13 year olds. It is called “Sings Hope for the Future”. It’s a call and response song with first attempt verses such as:
- A child’s first steps, a child’s first words
- Sings hope for the future
- A flower that springs from the rains in the desert
- Sings hope for the future
- The rays of the dawn sunrise
- Sings hope for the future
- Enemies sitting together at the same table
- Sings hope for the future
- Birds singing at the first light of dawn….
This is how it started. And then came the verses:
- Tomorrow is not written, tomorrow is open
- Sings hope for the future
- Our lives are not written, our lives are open
- Sings hope for the future!
Now the sparks were flying! Something in us all lit up in response to these words. It is a statement of defiance; not ungrateful nor insolent, but defiant, I dare say – spiritually defiant. It was as if these few young lives were speaking on behalf of all children:
Tomorrow is NOT written – it is open! Our lives the same!
We don’t want the “future” you have created for us. It is NOT inevitable. It is NOT closed. It is NOT written! We want a different future; one that our children can also hope for. The world you have passed on to us is sadly lacking in hopeful application. Some of you have taught us to believe in the human potential. Well, here we are! We want to fulfill that potential!
Tomorrow is NOT written! Tomorrow is OPEN!
Sings hope for the future.