I borrowed Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation from our excellent library because I saw a review somewhere praising the book. The title intrigued me and so did the subtitle: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Haidt explores how the over-protectiveness of parents in this generation is robbing kids of the opportunity to learn by doing. He maintains that a degree of risk is essential to development. This trend is coupled with the recent phenomenon of teens less likely to interact socially in person because they are so in thrall to their devices and the on-line world. We have moved rapidly from a discovery mode to a defend mode. Please take note that this is my six-sentence summation of numerous chapters.
I had not expected that there would be a full chapter titled Spiritual Elevation and Degradation in which he maintains that our phone-based life produces spiritual degradation in all of us.Even though Haidt is an atheist he offers a thorough exploration of the religious sensibilities and communities whose purpose is to elevate or lift us up. He looks at this through the lens of different religions traditions and spiritual practices, including:
Shared Sacredness
Embodiment
Stillness, Silence, and Focus
Transcending the Self
Be Slow to Anger, Quick to Forgive
I can't do justice to Haidt's development of these categories here, but they are all important from my perspective of a Christian who was in congregational ministry for nearly four decades. All of these were essential to life as the community of Jesus, despite the drawbacks and crazy-making churchianity, and they still are now that I'm a "civilian" Christian.
Haidt also speaks about appreciating the "grandeur of nature" as a spiritual response, a subject dear to my heart as a Groundling, an aged child of the Creator.
The book would be worthwhile without this chapter but it is strengthen by its inclusion and I'm grateful for the insights and affirmations it offers.
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