Article # 233 Networking

              Networking is a fancy new word we use nowadays that refers to linking computers together for the exchange of information (the Internet) or building informal relationships with people for job or business opportunities. In the good old days, networking took place all the time. It was known as community spirit: looking out for each other, making resources available to meet another’s needs as you became aware of them. Doing a good turn for those needing it. Being neighborly. It’s what family and friends would do when they became aware of the needs of others.

            Working together is why we want to live in families and communities. Although with today’s fast pace, many individuals are too focused on their own problems to reach out to help others. Take families as an example. Young married couples should be able to go to their parents for advice and support as they raise their own children. Unfortunately, most young parents want to do it their way and stumble through the process, neglecting to ask their own father or mother for advice. What a waste of time and good experience gained through the school of hard knocks.

            What could be the role of grandparents or aunts and uncles in a family? They are retired now and involved in their own leisure pursuits, but could provide a safety net(work) of love and support for their progenitors as they try to raise immature dependent children into responsible productive adults?

            It was easier in olden times where physical work daily was necessary to sustain the family. Now, many youth are without responsibilities at home and aren’t taught to network or strengthen others through their contributions. There is always work to be done at home. It may not be milking the cow, but there are meals to cooks, dishes to cleanup, laundry to do and garbage to take out. In two-parent family where both spouses work and especially single parent families, children need to pitch in and carry their load.

            Youth left to their own pleasures will usually chose video games over sweeping the floor or clearing off the dinner dishes. It’s time to re-teach networking or family unity. Many participate in social networking on FACEBOOK, but how about on a more practical level with the day-to-day labors required to make a house a home and a group of individuals into a family? NEXT TIME: Codependency.