Think big! An open letter to our youth

by Sarah-Leah Pimentel · June 22, 2014

This month’s mustard seed is addressed to South Africa’s youth. I invite all the readers of The Southern Cross to pass on this letter to all the young people they know.

Dear Young Person,

I wish that I could meet you and tell you how wonderful you are. Yes, you. I don’t know you, but I know you have a special gift that us older folk have lost…raw passion.

In her letter to young people, Sarah-Leah Pimentel writes: Have the courage to be happy. Dare to dream big. Dare to truly live by making choices that will bring you real happiness, lasting happiness. Dare to be fully alive (Photo: Karen Callaway)

Raw Passion. You have a zest for life, an energy, and excitement that is infectious. Your raw passion comes from knowing that you have your entire life ahead of you. And your choices are limitless. You have dreams and hopes for the future. You are the future.

On June 16, 1976, thousands of high school students went out onto the streets, despite the dangers, to speak out against injustice and inequality, to stand for the right to quality education. Why? Because they had a vision of how things could be.

Thirty-eight years on, we see the transformative power that they had on our country. We are here today because they staked their lives to make the adults realise that something was very wrong in our society. The actions of that generation of youth helped to precipitate the change that South Africa needed.

What do you stake your life on today? What are you searching for? What do you desire deep down in your heart?

Maybe some of your answers include: I want to be happy. I would like to make a difference. I want to make my life count for something. I want to be successful.

With all my heart, I want that for you too. Even the pope wants this for you. Earlier this year he told the young people of the world to think big and open your hearts.

Yes, open your heart to life real life. A life that is more than a temporary pleasure or a quick fix.

There’s a whole industry out there that tries to sell you lies one that says that the meaning of life is to party all the time.

You’ve heard the John Legend song that says: When my time is over, lying in my grave, written on my tombstone, I want it to say: This man was a legend, a legend of his time. When he was at a party, the party never died.

Is that really all that life’s about? To sing and dance till we lose our minds and to drink till there is nothing left, as the song suggests? I’m sure that you want something more meaningful written on your gravestone one day.

Think big! You have unique talents and gifts to make a difference in the world. There are things that only you can do. That is God’s special plan for your life.

Dear young person, you might be reading this and think: She’s got no clue about my life or my problems. The stuff going on in my world is too big to overcome.

I know that too. There are too many of you who live in extreme poverty. Or you don’t have access to the education that you deserve, or perhaps in your experience love is just a word and not a real experience. Or perhaps you’ve already lost hope.

Think big! I’ve met amazing young people who have overcome insurmountable obstacles to rise above really dreadful situations. I have so much admiration and respect for them. And if they did it, so can you.

Take courage and follow in the footsteps of St Paul (who got a pretty rough deal too) who said: I can do all things because Christ gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). How can you do this?

Pope Francis in an address to the young people of the world earlier this year, encourages you to reflect on this verse: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3).

What does poor in spirit mean? To keep it simple. Simplify your lives.

The greatest pleasures often aren’t the greatest highs, the fanciest car, the most expensive clothes or the latest technology. The greatest joy often comes from uncluttering your life, so that you can listen to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit who shows you how to follow your dreams.

Poor in spirit also means to protect your heart. Protect yourself from those who will bring you down because they don’t want to see you take wings and fly.

Avoid relationships that are unhealthy and will give you baggage that will rob you of your raw, youthful passion. Don’t waste your youth on meaningless sexual relationships that make you feel used and abused. Don’t waste your time with drugs and gangs.

Poor in spirit means to open your heart to the everyday wonders around you. Never lose the curiosity to ask questions. Embrace the things that bring you life, but never be afraid to question the way we older people do things. Sometimes we also get it very wrong. You have the potential to show us a new, a better way, just like the youth of 1976 did.

Have the courage to be happy. Dare to dream big. Dare to truly live by making choices that will bring you real happiness, lasting happiness. Dare to be fully alive (Jn 10:10).

Above all, have faith. Trust that God loves you very much and, regardless of your circumstances, has a special plan for your life. Believe that there is something greater than yourself and greater than this world. In everything you do, prepare for the wonderful eternity that is waiting for you one day in heaven.

Dear young person, I leave you with the words of Bl Piergiorgio Frassati (1901-25), a young Italian Catholic social activist: To live without faith, to have no heritage to uphold, to fail to struggle constantly to defend the truth: this is not living. It is scraping by. We should never just scrape by, but really live.