"A Generation lost in Space"

Back in 1971, nearly 40 years ago, Don Mclean, an American song writer, wrote a classic Ballad/song…called... American Pie…I am not sure about other ballads he wrote, but during that summer, it seemed like that was the only song on the Radio….it talked about life in general…and the day "The Music died”…referring to the Tragic plane crash, in 1959, that ended the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper…it stunned a generation… …particularly the generation of young Americans, who grew up in the 50’s rock era, with Dick Clark and the American Bandstand phenomena… which ushered in the 1960’s…

They were rock and roll idols whose influence touched an entire generation …a golden age, an idyllic time… the first generation, of many American families...the children of immigrants, born of soldiers, who first discovered sex, love and music and great enjoyable times…the 1971 song came off the heels of the flower children who had migrated to San Francisco, the heart of the countercultural movement of the 60’s…desperately searching for answers for a new way to live a life…. and was sandwiched between the anti war effort, Watergate, and the fall to disgrace of Richard Nixon and finally…. the end to the Vietnam war...
It was an incredibly turbulent time. After the deaths of JFK, RFK, and MLK, we began to lose sight of these noble ideals … many of which, died on the vine… and were lost on these courageous souls who quietly slipped into mainstream society, to become the future of business, law, trades, politics and occupied all the professions imaginable.... to help them build a family, a future and the hope for a fulfilled life…..who became known as... the baby boomers.
The refrain, below…which….for anyone older than 50, has become indelibly imprinted in their mind…. maybe more so…. than even some Beatles songs….and goes like this…..

"We started singing,
bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
And singin, thisll be the day that I die.
thisll be the day that I die".

Interestingly enough….….what has always stuck out for me …were these other words…..

Oh, and there we were.. all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again

40 years later…many of these 60 million American baby boomers, who embraced this ballad... are today’s parents and grandparents….and these words have become hauntingly real again for many….
We indeed, have again become a generation Lost in space with a distinct feeling that there is no time left to start over……

For many of these souls, life has become greatly unfulfilled, with personal connections to others deeply fractured and very distant, the divorce rate is at an all-time high……the ideals attached to the 60’s have become largely abandoned…and age has crept up and immobilized many people…
Those who have achieved financial success, have learned that the accumulation of wealth alone… has not been the savior of a happy life nor become the monument by which success is measured.….

And... For those who have depleted their assets, or have fallen on tough times…as many are experiencing... as I write this piece..…. the specter of a good retirement has also become a mirage, an illusion…
There is very little trust in our systems and empowerment seems like something we read about in self help book, heard at some corporate meeting…. or was discussed on Oprah…somewhere along the way.

Many of the ideals and beliefs in the things we thought we wanted at the beginning of that golden age, have somehow been lost in our current lives and we just don’t know what to do…there is a empty feeling that we are missing something.. And…. that unfinished business remains… Sadly… some feel incapable of acquiring the skills necessary to make changes and that there life span feels shortened.

The Age of Aquarius, that spiritual awakening, with a nameplate we had hoped to fashion on our breasts, has become a flop, has little meaning, and has been minimized by society in general….as a pipe dream.

Many have grasped at the golden ring on the merry-go-round…and have largely....come up empty handed…..many of the core beliefs have failed us…

The good news is….that the answers to what we seek today are as achievable now…. As the dreams we envisioned then....

A generation lost…simply, means that we have lost our bearings...our GPS system is still there… but it got rusted shut...just like the Tin man… …until Dorothy happened along with the oil can….The tin man had all he needed to succeed….especially...as we have come to learn.... because he had a heart…
Heart… is what we have lost…the heart is our north star….all the guidance we need is within us….Just as the mariners used the stars to navigate to a new world safely…we have to go back to what makes us human…to use our mind but follow our heart...rayray