It is very easy to forget that those of us who are no longer young have so much to share! We have amassed wisdom and knowledge by the very act of living. We have watched others navigate waters, done so, ourselves, and learned how to avoid the nets that weigh us down. All of this we have done while experiencing life in different ways, growing in different directions. Because of that, we may not remember that young people want to experience life on their own terms, and not simply learn from us. This disparity leads to division and may separate, rather than bring us together. The result is frequently a sense that our age makes us irrelevant, out of touch with today’s world. I believe that we are extremely relevant, in certain areas, and probably, ugh…I hate to admit this, not in others. Some examples where we may question our relevance:

  • Our taste in music is rather irrelevant…when was the last time we understood what was being said, even with our hearing aids? Give me anyone from Johnny Mathis to Michael Jackson, and all in between.
  • Our knowledge of technology…in general, we congratulate ourselves for knowing to turn off a device if it wigs out on us! We are terrified of the day we must learn a new way of getting online information.
  • Our understanding of the myriad of streaming services that seem to never offer the show we want to watch, after we just bought yet another one.
  • Our belief that the way things were done is the way they SHOULD be done, regardless that there actually IS a better way of doing it now!
  • Our inability to “trust” that young people can handle their finances even if they do not use a checkbook, or for that matter, a pen!

However, and this is a great big however, we (being, for the most part, Baby Boomers) are an amazing generation. We push harder to stay youthful than any generation before us. We seem to never give up, or perhaps, never give in. We want to look our best, perform at our best, and yes, stay relevant for longer than any before us. Here are a few thoughts that may add to our relevance:

  • Find commonality with younger people, even if it takes us out of our comfort zone. Let’s remember that we thought our parent’s generation was “old-fashioned,” alien-thinking and rather clueless!
  • Leave our judgements at the door when entering our children’s world. Take responsibility for feeling that we know better and recognize that we may not. We may simply see things differently.
  • Accept that the younger generation feels they are not understood by anyone over a certain age…and didn’t we feel the same way? Start from there and go forward.
  • Let’s jump out of our comfort zone on a regular basis, remembering that we learned to do new things throughout our lives, and we are not too old to learn new things now.
  • Give of ourselves to those in need…just find a way to give! I cannot stress this way of being relevant enough…My involvement with food insecurity, Ostomates, writing as a mentoring tool all help to define me, so that when the shadow of irrelevance washes over me, I remind myself that as long as I am here, I will remain determined and devoted to doing what I can.

We all have the ability to connect with the generations above us and beneath us. Let’s do so, because showing relevance is really up to us!

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