A New Path: Young People Carve the Way
By Michelle Katz
Every morning I take a short walk up a hill behind my house to my sit spot, a down juniper trunk decorated with red, black, white and yellow rocks I have collected in my explorations of the surrounding land. My two dogs are my loyal companions as I sit, naming all my blessings, as I look out over the Jemez Mountain range. When I rise, I walk east along the ridge. It is a great way to start the day, with perspective, a 360 degree view, I feel the possibility of the day.
I then descend into the water-and-wind-carved crevasse between two hills, the decent it a bit rocky and the way from there gets complex for a bit. I step into the narrow ravine, and I am aware of my feet. I ramble up and down cliffs, etched and carved conglomerate rock and sandstone. The metamorphic nature that surrounds me mirrors something inside me. I weave through the obstacles of fallen juniper and unsteady rocks, hindering a natural flow. After years of this morning practice, I do this more seamlessly, a path that was once complicated with many hurdles has become an instinctive dance.
The last third of the journey opens to an arroyo and a sense of ease sets in as I enter the expanse. The sand is soft beneath my feet, live vibrant green juniper along the hills’ edges, some wild grasses reaching upward for resources and the brush of my fingertips. During certain times of year, flowers make their appearance, offering color and joy. During other times of year, untouched snow but for my footprints and dogs paw prints of the days before, some rabbit and coyote also leave their mark. The threshold close to the house was once also a hurdle to pass, the last hurdle of the journey, a large down juniper across the width of where the arroyo meets the larger arroyo that leads home. There was only one place to step to cross it and I had to hold the hand of a branch to assist me on the way. However, with my partner moving in with me, just months ago, in his gallant way, removed a number of dead branches to make that threshold passage more effortless. After that, I am on my way home, with one last view of the Jemez before I cross the gate to the yard, and onward to start the day.
I think of this little walk every morning as beautiful metaphor for every day. Starting the day with prays, perspective and possibilities and then navigating obstacles, complexities and challenges with as much flexibility and grace as possible, trying to keep my feet below me. And then, after the hardships of a workday, the day opens to a feeling of relief, expanse, ease, beautiful connection and in the end, my partner makes my way home easier than it was before (though, I still hold the hand of the tree to assist me on my way, because the connection is just so splendid.)
Recent developments to the neighborhood have changed things. New neighbors, construction and fences have created new obstacles at the beginning of my daily journey, barking dogs behind wire fences and loud noises and strangers. I have had to reroute, abandon and establish a new sit spot, moving rocks and carving new paths. This shift offers a contemplation on change.
In the last few months, I had grown increasingly unhappy at my day job. I struggled daily, asking myself, “What do I do?” With a massive student loan, inflation and the cost of living in Santa Fe becoming increasingly more expensive, I struggled between values and responsibility. When a new and exciting but less profitable position opened up for me, I struggled with indecision. I read this article about Millennials and Gen Zers choosing unemployment rather than being unhappy at work. In the inner-debate, I contemplated happiness while reflecting on the months of grief and depression I had just experienced. Do I choose money or happiness? Affording what I am responsible for with ease or respect, appreciation, a deep connection to my daily work? All this corresponding with the creation of a new uphill path, a new spot to sit to look out on the mountains. I returned to the knowing of my values of integrity, purpose and community relationships. The new job opportunity offered all this. The article emphasizes the way young people are not interested in paying lip-service to work/life balance and personal fulfilment, they want to live it, despite all odds. It also highlights the desire for the alignment of values and personal empowerment in their daily work life.
The article brings the older generation’s approach to work into question. The older generation may look at this with the belief that the younger generation is entitled, ungrateful, irresponsible. To that, I say, let us remember the important role of young people in our society; they are here to shift old ways of thinking, to offer progress, a movement forward to something better. More and more, millennials and Gen Zers are making different decision than previous generations, prioritizing connection, purpose and well-being above all else. What an amazing evolution, an advancement to prioritize what is truly important. This is meant to be celebrated.
I took the new job, working for the local public education department on a mental health grant for the state, and I am thrilled to be in this role, while also being able to provide direct service to young people again, offering my mentorship program. Making this shift invites me to show up fully again. I am no longer being asked to be small, to only do one role for some company that doesn’t value me. I get to show up, offer my gifts again, share my dreams, make an impact!
The younger generation is here to teach us something, and it’s important that we listen, especially in the wake of the last two years. There is this saying that 'If you are over 45 and don't have an under-30 mentor - not mentee - then you are going to miss the fundamental shifts in thinking that are happening'. As a millennial, much over 30, I see the practice of mentorship as reciprocal, there is much to learn from our youth as guides toward a new future. Intergenerational relationships encourage us all to become the best Self we can become!
My dogs and I get lost on the new trail a lot. Out of habit we often start off on the old path and reroute, a bit disoriented in the process. The new trail, not yet obviously carved in the dirt, creates alternative path foot steps that are misleading and create distributions on the landscape (something my partner, who is a biologist, frowns upon). An excellent metaphor for the process of paradigm shifts. My new sit spot offers a closer view of home, reflecting my movement from a global to more local focus in my life, which I enjoy. It is also quieter and has a more comfortable large rock seat, making my connection to the land and Self more amiable. The way east from there, toward the ravine is slowly becoming more craved and known. My companions often find themselves weaving between the old and new. Every day we all get more familiar and comfortable with this new way and seem to be better at staying on the path, reconnecting to values with each step. Gratitude floods in as I navigate and find my flow, parkouring my way through the ravine, to the gentle meandering about the arroyo, making my connection to the juniper who assists me across the threshold to start my day. The challenging part had come more comfortable than the beginning 360 degree view of possibility part of the walk, but I know that will not be true for long. Humans have a gift to adapt, and it all about how we approach the change. I know that this new path supports me.
