I recently stumbled upon something that just seemed odd to me.
In Nordic countries families will put their babies outside, in the elements, to “air them out” so that they get tired and sleep longer. They actually do this in sub-zero temperatures.
Seems like a weird tactic. It left me wondering who was the first one to try out that method.
A couple weeks ago I went for a walk to the beach and was just sitting on a bench, feeling the wind and watching the waves tumble when I overheard a conversation between two women.
“Yeah well that's this generation, ya know? They were given everything and never really had to work for what they have”
It left me wondering if this is substantive, or if this is more of a generational point of view.
One thing I've come to realize through this aging process is that most (maybe all) generations just think their generation is the best at everything.
They believe their generation is the smartest, the most fun, the hardest working, etc.
The people that are airing out their babies on the sidewalk while they cash out for a nap will probably criticize a lot of parenting methods that are deployed in future generations.
The generation that endured the economic collapse in the 30s would look at the price of a house today and probably contend that there has to be a better way.
And while we have more information than we could ever want at our fingertips in today’s generation, we also have this responsibility to question the validity of it so that we aren't absorbing and forwarding information that is untrue.
In 40 years, there will be a generation that I'm sure will criticize our old ways. In fairness, we'll probably have critiques of our own.
Maybe I'll continually criticize the self-driving cars or society's obsession with virtual reality at that time. Maybe there will be something new, something that seems foreign to me.
Cutting edge technology 40 years ago is now scoffed at. Advances in medicine continue to show us new and better ways of treating illnesses. And athletes keep breaking records and are becoming stronger and faster than ever before.
The world is continuing to change.
What I hope for is that I'll learn from the past. Whether that comes in the form of mistakes or wisdom, I'm open to it.
For now, I’ll keep reminding myself that I don't know what I don't know.
This is part of my collection Friday Thoughts by the Fire. Feel free to share it!