Cool kids

Further to the earlier post on Buddhist Vampires, I was listening to a bit of Screeching Weasel today and was reminded of their song “Cool Kids”.

Kinda made me think of a time way back when I was at a Buddhist centre as a young pup and found it difficult to connect with the other practitioners due to feeling a bit out of place since I was the youngest one in the room. This was purely as a result of my “anti-conformist”, “not wanting to hang with the old hippies mechanism” firmly rooted in my distrust of anyone my parents age.

I saw the centre as a “Cool Club” where due to my lack of life experience, level of practice and general young foppishness, I’d never fit in.

One day, one of the other attendees of the program came over and started talking to me and then once I loosened up a bit, asked why I didn’t stick around after the sessions and went off on my own. SNAP. It hit me. I was the one projecting that I was too “cool for their school” and my insecurities just got the best of me; keeping me from enjoying some meaningful conversations and connections with other practitioners.

I’d encourage you to notice when you start to run off from the ‘Cool Kids’ and examine what it is you are feeling and thinking in these moments. Chances are it’s just your ego getting the worst of you.

Oh and to the kid who made this homemade video for this song and didn’t get a good grade in their media studies class - I think you did a great job on it so *ppptt* to your teacher!