Ceasing to understand the times in which we live

I can relate to what Norman Fischer, Zen Buddhist priest, said at the Stanford graduation ceremony 2014:
We older people don't really know what the world will require in the coming times – and we are a bit bewildered, and unsure, though we hate to admit it. To grow old is to gradually cease to understand the times in which you live. "

Yes so true. Each day as the world news whirls around me I feel more and more resigned to not getting a grasp of the logic, the rationale or some world order which gives meaning to the events which unfold. I used to believe the only way to figure out is to read and gather as much information so to get a glimpse of some grand plan. If I am confused it must be due to the lack of adequate knowledge. Many believe that the only way to be safe is through "thinking to death".

As I grow older I become not only more resigned but more willing to let go and accept the inability to understand "the times in which we live". Buddha has once advised against spending time thinking about the 4 imponderables, 2 of which are the origin of the world (metaphysics) and the precise working of karma.

Watching a documentary on BBC Earth which traces the history of China from 2000BC with the rise and fall of empires and endless warfare, reminded me there were countless periods in history when people must have also felt they "ceased to understand the times in which they live".

Instead directing the focus on living in the present moment with as much love, compassion and good intention that we can manage as a human being would be more promising than "thinking to death".

Peace-
"It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble and hard work. It means to be in a place with those things and still to be calm in your heart."