Universe ME

It’s been just over thirty days since I turned sixty; one of those ‘big large’ moments of life, and as little or large as you make it. There was no great transformation, no wings sprouting from my back and certainly no halo appearing above my head, yet it feels transformative.

I heard on the radio today that our youth oriented culture is also changing with the orientation turning to older generations, perhaps to the dismay of the younger generations who point to us as the responsible villains for creating the world we live in. I am left wondering what this world will look like and in this wonder I asked myself what would be perfect for me? Here’s what I came up with:

–          more wrinkles and less botoxed masks

–          less fashion and more natural wear

–          fewer perfect slender bodies on magazine covers and more ‘real women’

–          fewer young models and more models of all ages, cultures and creeds

–          fewer stories regarding the famous and infamous and more stories about everyday heroes and heroines

–          fewer stories filled with violence and turmoil and more stories which are inspiring and heart warming

–          more emphasis on health and less emphasis on weight or body size.

I could continue but you get the drift.

Just after I wrote this I picked up the Globe and Mail – Life Style Section. Featured on the front page was a story: Universe ME – The Empathy Gap; a study of university students, average age twenty, known as the millennium generation. The study found, that compared to a similar study on 1979, there was a 40% reduction in empathy, that is, the ability to see the world from another person’s perspective. This was matched with a dramatic increase in narcissism and materialism. They are known as the ‘ME Generation’, which is interesting as I believe our generation of Baby Boomers were also once known by this name. Regardless, the current culprit for this shift in human behavior is apparently the rise in social networking, a form of communication where deep face to face relationships can be avoided and communication kept at the most superficial, self-focused level.

Back to my list of what would be prefect for me as a newly minted sixty year old – I see my generation as a significant source of coach/mentors for the younger millennium generation. It is interesting that I authored a book called ME FIRST – If I Should Wake Before I Die which is anything but narcissistic and all about understanding yourself and how you are called to service. Very different from Universe ME although sounding like kissing kin.

I see this article as a personal roadSIGN, a wake-up call and invitation for generation 60ish. Is it really time for us to retire or is it time for us to Re-Tire, put on new treads, and breathe new life into our days? I believe my generation of soon to be or already sixty year olds are being called to action. If this study is true, if empathy is lapsing and narcissism gaining ground, generation sixty can influence this. We are, after all, the generation who witnessed the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, feminism and gay rights, and more. We grew up at a time when we touted our values as being upper most in our lives. And yes, then we all went to work and yes, many of those values we espoused were parked in the corner of some room. Yet those same values are there; they ground us and perhaps it is time to retrieve them and dust them off. Perhaps this is the time where we, as a generation, can make our greatest contribution.

There is, in my view, much work to be done to nurture younger generations. It is time to cast judgment aside, for it is easy to judge them. As I was journaling on this topic I was in transit from Montreal to London, Ontario. In Toronto I met a younger colleague attending the same meeting. In the three hours or so we spent together, two were spent sitting beside me ‘thumbing’ her messages on a blackberry. The third hour was on the plane. She exchanged a few words with me but as soon as the little box vibrated, her response was immediate. Somewhere in between texting her messages, she asked me if I had a Blackberry. I said NO, that I was currently evaluating my technology options. She smiled and quipped, “they’re addictive” and returned to the little black box that now seemed to rule her interactions. It occurred to me that she did not know how to converse with me. Wow!

So for those of you reading this, who are of or approaching generation sixty, there is much work for us to do should you choose to accept the challenge. I am not willing to forfeit my work, teaching people how to communicate effectively with themselves and with others, to the rise in social media and the ‘crackberry’ devices that surround me. I believe this study, while limited in scope, is the canary in the coal mine, a warning of what is to come unless we act. Are you up for the challenge? Will you join me?

Until next time,

Betty