When you walk out about town, are you able to pick out the people who are looking at the people around them with an eye to better the situation for them? These are people who know how trends take shape and change things. Their laughter might indicate some joy in seeing some constructive kind of conversation evolve around a topic that they think is very important. One very good descriptor for such folks is “caring” people. If you look around them at most other folks in the environment, you’ll see that others are posturing. These other folks are only trying to do and say the things that they think will get them the best opportunities for themselves. It’s quite a contrast.

Another big contrast between these two types of people is that the “caring” people are also very deep thinkers. There is some pretty significant substance underneath that disarming expression on their face. The posturers, on the other hand are always wanting someone else to tell them what to believe about issues. They aren’t mature enough to know the importance of looking at the world with their own eyes.

It would be very good for those of us who are of that “caring” group to notice eachother in public, and extend the hand of friendship to eachother. I think that having a common project to work on helps quite a bit for those who are peers to eachother… However, intergenerational friendships between such people can also be very cool. It’s important to get mentorship for your own life as a young adult, and mentor others who are younger than yourself. When we meet such people, let’s not be daunted by suspicion of sexual motivations, when there is such a keen affection expressed. That kind of suspicion can put up a wall between the one in need of mentorship and a potential friend who has seen more of the world, and who can offer a leg up in the world. A young person who is skittish of affection from more mature adults will have a long solitary slog towards her or his future.

And we do need eachother. It’s ironic; even though we seek to act constructively, the posturers generally misconstrue us. The posturers tend to assume that others are also posturing, and so they are disconcerted when someone is talking about outside-the-box models about the world, or is being transparent and straightforward in their words and actions.