Next Gen
By Martin Siesta, CFP®
In many of the communities that I am a member of(our profession, local communities, non profits, and yes, my family), there is this underlying, and sometimes fully present conflict and stress. There is judgment about who knows better and where the wisdom lies. But what I have noticed is that when we invite each other into conversation where we truly listen, something changes. Perception is altered. Recently I participated in an intergenerational learning journey that had about 30 participants across generations. I was surprised at my immediate judgment as I just saw someone enter the room. Labels and shadow galore! Yet over several days, each of us were jarred, inspired and moved to tears at both hope and understanding.
Every aging generation questions whether the generation coming of age has what it takes to learn into maturity as defined by the aging generation. Easy for each to think it knows better than the other. The fact is that they will always know more together than they could in isolation or competition. Hierarchy has the relevance of fossils. In an age of wisdom, life is a circle and we dare to be peers.
© 2008 Martin Siesta, CFP®. Reprinted with permission.