As the sun rises and sets, and the moon waxes and wanes, as the tides of the sea rise and fall, and life on earth brightens and fades, there is one perpetual, unchanging element of our age. And it sounds something like this …
I’m more important than you. I have a bigger house and car and property portfolio than anyone else I know. I’m professionally certified, I have a degree, and honors, and my own business. My friends are celebrities. I’ve traveled the world three times. I’m a valued citizen of society, I pay my taxes, follow the rules, and do my duties. I believe and do what I’m supposed to, I’m better, and bigger, and smarter than you.
This is the sound of modern life, the story of our age of dogma and ego. Are you feeling a sense of overwhelming alienation yet?
If you feel tired, wary and repelled by the thirsts, drives, goals, values, and beliefs of society, you are probably an Old Soul in a Young Soul world.
12 Signs Young Souls Are Getting to You
Have a read and see whether you test ‘positive’ or not.
1. You’re repelled by the rigid schedules the people around you live, and impose.
2. You’re dismayed by how people force themselves to be busy and productive, and how busyness is lauded as a virtue.
3. You’re tired of hearing the religious importance people place in getting professional certifications and degrees.
4. You’re disturbed by people’s definitions of ‘success’ and ‘happiness’.
5. You’re constantly shocked and sickened by the narrow-mindedness of people in regards to health, happiness, family, relationships, sexuality, culture, society and life purpose.
6. You’re confused by the absolute, unfaltering certainty people show in their thoughts, beliefs and opinions.
7. You’re perpetually disappointed by the lack of foresight, insight and hindsight people show.
8. You’re depressed by the continuous power-hungry mindset of people to be “number one” in almost every aspect of life.
9. You’re disconcerted by how much energy and importance people place on getting a job, working in a job, and rising to the top ranks.
10. You’re distressed by how self-important and self-obsessed many of the people around you are.
11. You’re always let down by the emotional and psychological superficiality of the people around you.
12. You’re sickened by the great, almighty importance placed on money, material possessions and social titles and ranks.
The Young Soul’s Role in the Old Soul’s Life
Young Souls are generally easy to identify: their clothes, their social roles, their mannerisms, their personalities, and their topics of conversation are all dead giveaways.
I’m quite sure that you don’t need to be taught what to think or do, but in my experience it’s altogether too easy to grumble at Young Souls for being thorns in the side, rather than embracing them as a necessary component of existence. From what I’ve learned, it helps to remember the following thoughts and work to integrate them into your life:
- Young Souls are not as empty and power-hungry as they may appear to be. They still have hidden thoughts, feelings and desires that they don’t necessarily express to the world. Sure these may not be as grandiose as an Old Soul’s, but there is a lot more depth to them than they like to let on. This is usually hidden away due to fear of societal judgement, or insecurity due to past hurt.
- Young Souls can teach us valuable lessons. It’s true. As Sol pointed out, Old Souls aren’t all-wise or all-knowing; we still have things to learn here and there. Some of these lessons we forget, like living for the moment (instead of the past or future), just doing (instead of over-thinking everything), and learning to love the finer things in life (splurging every now and then on things that bring us delight is not corrupt or foolish if done in moderation). Young Souls also help to remind us that life doesn’t always have to be lived in a wizened, serious way, but can be approached with a youthful and playful attitude as well.
- Although we can’t connect to the same wavelength as Young Souls to share our joys and sorrows, Young Souls also shoulder their fair share of sorrow and pain, which although not as profound, is no less important or valid. Many times the wounded sides of Young Souls can’t even be expressed in a healthy way, so is instinctively taken out on people, substances (food, drugs, alcohol) or situations.
- We are no better than them. Mindsets of superiority only breed dissension, and besides, who is better than another person? What divine rule makes that so? While we may have more complex thoughts, goals and skills in life, we are no more important, valid or necessary than them. We all know this, but some of us become short-sighted and blinded; overcome by frustration, tiredness and dissatisfaction at our inability to be fully embraced and understood by our counterparts.
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While we can do our part to better the world around us, we certainly can’t bring about any spectacular, miraculous world-wide permanent change. People must first be willing to change themselves, and that only comes with slow conscious evolution. What we can do, however, is to accept what we can’t change in life, keeping in mind the elements I mentioned above.
Young Souls can be our greatest teachers, if we let them.