The eagle feather plays a substantial part in religious and shamanic practices and ceremonies.

The eagle
feather transmits strength; it gives the ability to speak honestly from the heart, without hurt or anger.
The middle vane in the feather symbolises the path that every man walks in their life time, and every
barb that comes of the middle vane symbolises the choices we all have in life, and that every choice we
make is attached to the middle or main path that we take. Eagle feathers are used while smudging along
with praying. The feathers were also given as symbolic gift to impart respect for accomplishment and
display of courage and wisdom. Now, I would like to ask you a question. Are you mentally matured
enough?

Growing up is a part of life. We grow all the time. We’re born as tiny little infants, and then slowly but
surely our bodies grow physically and our minds grow mentally. We learn new things every day and gain
from the different experiences that we go through. All these learning experiences that we endure, boost
our maturity level and this results in what we call ‘growing up.’ But the process of ‘growing up’ is
different for every individual. The sense of maturity that we gain results from the environment that we
live in and the challenges we have to undergo, and since we are all different human beings, our lives our
completely different from one another’s. Some people sustain heavy losses at a very tender age, and
end up having to carry a heavy burden and so are forced to gain maturity faster that people who are
sheltered by the arms of their parents, and have not yet gone through the hardships of life. Although, I
do agree that in one aspect a sense of maturity does come with age, I would also have to say that due to
the different conditions in our lives the degree of ‘being grown up’ varies.

Maturity can be defined to as the development of spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and volitional
capacity of an individual. Other people refer to it as the ability of an individual to act responsibly. It is
believed that adults are supposed to be responsible, and hence mature. However, in this essay, it is
asserted that maturity and age are completely different.

About Young People and Maturity

Whereas some people may mature very early, some will take a long time. Currently, young people are
exposed to a lot of information from a very tender age. As compared to the past, today, the internet and
some television programs offer bulk of information that has adult content. Even so, so many of them do
not act responsibly. Rather, they have been involved in irresponsible behaviors such as drugs and
substance abuse. Some of them have found it difficult to complete school and any other form of
training. Simply, they have been unable to keep long-term commitments. Further still, they are unable
to interact with adults well and will be shaken at any sign of flattery or criticism.

In addition, researchers have indicated that young people consume too much adult information that
they cannot handle. Since their brain is still being formed, they do not have the emotional capacity and
the will to handle all the information. Yet, the society may expect these young ones to act responsibly
because they have access to the related information. Naturally, such expectations cause conflicts in
schools and at home.
There Are Many Adults Who Do Not Act Maturely

Apart from the young people, there are many adults who can be said to have grown old and failed to
mature up. Such people may have had a wrong upbringing and hence were not prepared for the
responsibilities of adulthood. Psychologists indicate that parents have the greatest role when it comes
to the maturity of an individual. Yet, most parents are either busy in their work places, or are
misinformed about bringing up their children. As a result, there are many adults today who are yet to
mature.

Some of qualities of a mature person include the ability to apply wisdom is decision making, showing
empathy, being able to express gratitude, being humble while relating with others, and being committed
to finish all tasks. Certainly, not all adults can be said to possess such qualities. It is, therefore, affirmed
that being mature has little or nothing to do with the age of an individual.

Age doesn't always define maturity. There are a lot of younger ones who think and act more maturely
than those older than them. Most of the time, experience forces others to grow quickly. At the end of
the day, you will realize that maturity shows when you start considering others opinions, admitting your
mistakes and saying sorry, shutting your mouth when you know you do not have anything nice to say
and all other actions that does not hurt other people’s feelings.

To be mature is to think twice before acting.