LET'S TALK ABOUT . . .


                                                "GENERATIONAL PATTERNS"


We all live out our lives within multiple systems from individual to international levels.  It can be more or less obvious how these systems function at any given moment.  Sometimes the governing principles are explicit, known to the majority of those living within them.  At other times it is less clear exactly how a particular system operates.  Sometimes it is because the system operates more on implicit principles, intentional or unintentional.

These implicit principles, while they can be, are not always intentionally taught.  The unintentional patterns are more often "caught," being transmitted by repetitively being lived out within the system.  These can be transmitted for generations before being identified, articulated, challenged or changed.  Changing long-standing patterns is usually more of a process than an event. 

Many times the reason these generational patterns are not identified is because they become operative norms within the system.  It is often an outside perspective that becomes instrumental in the process of identifying, articulating, challenging and providing the necessary intervention to change these patterns.  This is one of the reasons it is not always healthy for systems to be exclusive, closed to any outside influence or accountability.

It is important to note here that there have been times historically that certain populations of survivors have needed to move toward exclusive tendencies in order to survive persecution and the threat of annihilation.  This has usually occurred in extreme circumstances and situations.  It is interesting that in modern times we are increasingly seeing persecuted populations rise up and attempt to draw global attention to their situation in an attempt to appeal for help.

As limited finite human beings none of us are able to be aware of all the forces coming to bear on us at any given moment.  That is why, as individuals, it is important to have those outside perspectives coming to bear on our lives, both individually and systemically.  The troubling reality in our world is that it is becoming less and less acceptable to entertain outside perspectives.  Why?

As we become more of a narcissistic society do we more readily conclude that those perspectives simply do not "work" for us and, therefore, are not considered valuable?  Could part of it be the breakdown in community dynamics?  Is it the decline of authoritative voices and influences in our world?  Is it a cacophony of forces at work among us, too enmeshed to attempt to sort out?  We may be too close to the occurrence to ferret it all out at this time.

I have experienced the power of such generational patterns in my own life and in the lives of others, individually and systemically.  At times, it has been daunting, if not traumatic, to stop and resist dismissing or defending against some truth long enough to struggle, come to terms with and integrate it into the reality of all you are.  This is part of what it means to change and grow, to deal with oneself in an intentional process.  It is not always easy, but it is a worthwhile process!

One of the growing concerns in our society is mental health.  Engaging in a life-changing process of dealing with oneself and one's life is not going to be a short-term process.  It means looking at oneself and, at times, at the systems within which we became who we are; it means looking at those generational patterns that shaped our lives.

Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!