Anahat Newsletter - 10

Dear Reader, 

“'Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it,” wrote George Orwell. 

“By the time I realized that my father was right, I had a son who thought I wasn’t,” goes another familiar quip. 

Both reflect the changing perspectives that come about as we age (dare I say, mature?). The convenient, and perhaps more ubiquitous term used to capture these differences and make them the grist of conversations, arguments, and accusations, is the much-invoked ‘generation gap’. 

There was a time when a younger generation had to conform to what the older one wanted if it wished to be employed or otherwise financially viable. But today, the proverbial shoe seems to be firmly on the other foot. With the increasing clout of the younger generation at work—particularly its fluency with technology and digital culture—the older generations of our time find themselves somewhat aghast. They now occupy the curious space of being sandwiched: required to conform to the older, and now to the younger, thereby effectively turning Orwell’s quote on its head. 

The world of work, more than any other domain in recent times, has pushed the drive to resolve these ‘generational differences’. But in framing all of this as a matter of 'generational difference', are we merely searching for the (one more) proverbial key where the light is? And in doing so, are we, all of us, in some way, ‘excusing’ ourselves from truly doing the hard work of managing differences—by placing everything conveniently on the hook of a ‘generational divide’?

Our next 'Re-think' Webinar (details below) invites us to engage head and heart, with this very idea.