Responsibility
Memo To: The Pre-Millennials

 

I was approached by Maya Pope-Chappell, News Editor at LinkedIn with a request to expound upon a comment I made on Influencer, Alan Murray’s post “What do Millennials Really Want?

My Comment: “I am so inspired by this generation, to watch their progress through a most challenging time is extraordinary.
To me, Millennials are simply finding their voice. It is our responsibility to allow them the freedom and creativity to do just that;
all the while, letting them know that we are there to support them, to offer our voice from the lessons we have experienced
in our lives and most importantly to learn from them.”

To me, the discussion about what Millennials want from society is not the question we should be asking.
We should be asking them what we can do to contribute to their success.
I believe, before we can understand what Millennials want, we have learn to see life through the same lens they do.
We have to listen to them and try to comprehend their voice before we judge them.
We created the world they live in today and now they have to figure out what they are going to do with it.
It is not our place to coddle or judge them. It is our place to do what we can to help them find their voice and offer support when they need context.

Pre-Millennials seem to be fixated on what is expected from Millennials,
rather than providing them with the tools they will need to inspire the generations who will follow them.
This ongoing topic of discussion created by pre-millennials about millennials is unproductive.

The impatience of Pre-Millennials has ignited mistrust on both sides of the equation resulting in a war of the generations.
I believe it might be worth our time as pre-millennials to take a step back and consider what our responsibility is to this generation.

Establishing trust in each other will require all generations to stand alongside one another in solidarity,
allowing all of us to learn from each other and to embrace the current cultural state of uncertainty.

Our War is not with Millennials.
Our War is within; it is the struggle to accept the fact that we are no longer in a position to anticipate the future.
The future has arrived.
We are looking straight into its eyes and it is looking back at us.
Millennials are the people who will set the course for the generations to come.

It is our responsibility to embrace our Millennials allowing them the autonomy to find their voice,
enjoy the same freedom we had to create new thoughts and beliefs that will continue to enhance and better humanity in general.

It is our responsibility to support them in their struggle to make sense out of what we’ve created for them
and help them generate and impact positive sustainable change for the generations that will follow them.

It is our obligation to stand with them to build a future absent the bias of race, color,creed, gender 
and all that has resulted in the fragmented social unrest we experience today.

“Millennials will not seek to cross the cultural boundaries set by generations of the past.
Millennials are poised to eliminate the cultural boundaries set by their predecessors, us.”

It is our duty to empower Millennials to find their voice and in doing so,
we will discover the extraordinary journey they have in front of them.

To all the Millennials who read this post.
This one’s for you, because sometimes other species are
more accepting of each other than humans.

“Dream Catcher”

Sometimes there exists a war within.
It is a battle between you, yourself and the Universe.
It is an intrinsic language, known only to the self.
This composition depicts inner turmoil and the journey toward sacred harmony.

The systematic composition of the images reflects a reckoning of the intrinsic struggle between life and death.
It exhibits the universal fire that exists within each of us that fights for life
beyond any challenge and breathes light back into our outlook on life, giving us the courage to move forward.

“Never think that war is a good thing, grandchildren.
Though it may be necessary at times to defend our people,
war is a sickness that must be cured. War is a time out of balance.
When it is truly over, we must work to restore peace
and sacred harmony once again.”
– Joseph Bruchac, “Code Talker”

Composition by: Kay Lynn Gabaldon

Feature Image:
“A Shell For My Soul”
Silvia Guillet