Interesting thread.
It's not when you were born, but how you were raised, that counts, IMHO.
Unless one has lived through some pretty traumatic times, I think most people look back on their childhoods with fondness. Of course it was a simpler time; one's parents took care of all the worrying and the "making ends meet." During summer vacation, I was so relaxed that I would forget which month and day of the week it was. I'd get up, throw on some clothes and be playing outside even before breakfast. As an adult, however, I'm not allowed that luxury -- even on vacation. There are always "things to do."
The past is super-fun to look back on. I'm an early-80s child, so anything 80s (cartoons, video games, clothing styles, music) gives me lots of enjoyment.
There comes a time, though, when one needs to stop clinging to the past and grab hold of the present. The past shapes us into the people we are so that we can work during the present to make a better future. Each generation was formed through different experiences and historical events; these things color our lives and form our attitudes. No generation will have the same forming as the generations that come after. If we sit around grouching about how "now" is not as good as the past, we're not taking advantage of anything the present is offering to us. The past can't be changed, and will never return.
I have to work with people from a variety of generations. Many of my colleagues started the same career I have before I was born! I think there are things we can learn from each other. There has to be a willingness to reach out and communicate between generations. Starting the dialogue between generations is just the beginning.
(The Moderator side of me does think that it's sort of ironic that a thread invoking the past was posted on a worldwide Internet forum...
...and I mean this in good humor).
It's not when you were born, but how you were raised, that counts, IMHO.
Unless one has lived through some pretty traumatic times, I think most people look back on their childhoods with fondness. Of course it was a simpler time; one's parents took care of all the worrying and the "making ends meet." During summer vacation, I was so relaxed that I would forget which month and day of the week it was. I'd get up, throw on some clothes and be playing outside even before breakfast. As an adult, however, I'm not allowed that luxury -- even on vacation. There are always "things to do."
The past is super-fun to look back on. I'm an early-80s child, so anything 80s (cartoons, video games, clothing styles, music) gives me lots of enjoyment.
There comes a time, though, when one needs to stop clinging to the past and grab hold of the present. The past shapes us into the people we are so that we can work during the present to make a better future. Each generation was formed through different experiences and historical events; these things color our lives and form our attitudes. No generation will have the same forming as the generations that come after. If we sit around grouching about how "now" is not as good as the past, we're not taking advantage of anything the present is offering to us. The past can't be changed, and will never return.
I have to work with people from a variety of generations. Many of my colleagues started the same career I have before I was born! I think there are things we can learn from each other. There has to be a willingness to reach out and communicate between generations. Starting the dialogue between generations is just the beginning.
(The Moderator side of me does think that it's sort of ironic that a thread invoking the past was posted on a worldwide Internet forum...
