Do you ever find it difficult talking about issues with another generation? I sometimes feel like I live in outer space. I know there can be generational gaps, but sometimes it just blows my mind. I remember jokes about Biden sniffing the hair of women or touching them on their shoulders. I always considered this a show of affection – a fatherly affection. Getting the information from another generation, I was missing something. It took some research on my part to develop the meaning of what women were saying. Don’t get me wrong – I support people who feel uncomfortable when this happens. I just come from a different generation where we were impacted differently. I never felt fear from asking someone not to do that or worried I might lose my job if I did. The wall we put up blocking out new information is when things get mixed up and put people on different sides. If you listen to what the next generation has to say, you will get a different picture from what you imagined. They come from a different world than which we were raised.

Often times we go with what is comfortable and familiar, trying to resist more information that will contradict our schema (mental picture we have). I find being open to conversations with other generations can be very enlightening. The information I learn helps me with future conversations. If you go into a conversation with an open mind you have nothing to lose. You can only gain insight from another perspective. Think about. Do you use technology in your day-to-day life? How are your parents using technology? Do they pay their bills online? Do they cast something off of their phone onto the TV? the same way you do? What about your grandparents, how do they use technology? I pay most of my bills online or on an app. I use Apple Pay, cast things from my phone to the TV, send emails from my phone, text, stream videos, etc. My parents opted not to. I don’t think my grandparents even had an answering machine before they passed away. My kids are much more tech-savvy than I am, and my grandkids blow my mind with the things they know! I rely on my 11-year-old granddaughter to teach me new things. There is a lot of fear around change. Change is good – it is progress. When we stop progressing, we stop advancing. The point of this blog is to try new things – don’t be afraid. It keeps you current with the direction the world is going. Do you want to watch life pass you by or hop on the bus to an inclusive world?