Hello hello,
Where is the time going!? It’s an age-old, rhetorical question that I’m starting to ask in a non-rhetorical way… Like seriously- how can time pass this quickly? I’ve heard a mathematical answer to this question – when you’re 5 years old, 1 year is 20% of your life. So of course a year feels like forever. But, as you age, any increment of time is a smaller percentage of your total experience on this planet so the perceived passage of the same objective amount of time (e.g. 1 year) is faster. I’m not sure I buy it – mostly because I don’t remember jack shit from when I was 5, but I’m passing it along nonetheless.
There is so much going on these days in the news globally and domestically – too much of which I claim to be ‘too-busy’ to pay attention to.
My family and I had a beautiful visit in MN over the 4th of July, and I was totally restored by multiple gatherings with my best friends from high school (reminder – ‘best friend’ is a tier, not a person. thank you #Mindy Kaling). We got all the families together one night which included 14 kids under the age of 7 (my oldest is the oldest). The adults are thoroughly out numbered at this point, and yet the vibe at the party was so laid back and joyful. It’s one of life’s greatest gifts to watch the kids punch, wrestle, and torment each other (#idontpromoteviolence).
In a girls-only brunch, we had an intriguing conversation about Gen Z’ers, and their (stereotype warning) approach to work/life. We gently debated the pros and cons of the Gen Z mentality that we are directly observing as Millennials in the workforce. This conversation was recently re-stimulated when I saw a NY Times article by Tim Kreider titled, “It’s Time to Stop Living the American Scam”:
I have discussed this many times in this blog – we live in a generation/society/time that values busyness/exhaustion. I am such a ‘victim’ of conforming to this value (or to put a positive spin on it, I should say I’m #winning at the exhaustion game!). I’ve internalized that working myself to the point of exhaustion is not only normal and expected but admirable. As a generalization, Gen Z’ers are starting to challenge this status quo, and I see many in my generation and earlier generations threatened by this spirit of nonconformity. I think the ‘threat’ is really fueled by a kind of jealousy – we SO wish we could leave our 9-5 job and pursue a passion that pays less but is actually fulfilling. It’s not that Gen Z’ers don’t want to work – it’s that they want actual life-work balance, and they want their work to be meaningful and purposeful. Us millennials want the same thing in theory, but we’re too immersed in the culture of consumer capitalism and perceived social status to make impactful changes to our lifestyles. Anyway, my key takeaway is to continue to observe the up and comers with an open mind because I know they have much to teach me.
Be well,
Jessica
PS – How many times do I have to italicize the word actual/actually to make sure the way I’m saying it in my head comes across here? Apparently 100% of the time. 🙂