I am a millennial.

I’m not ashamed to admit it.

We’ve been called a lot of things. Blamed for a lot of things.

I recently saw a “good Christian woman” on Facebook post something that said: “We all wondered what would happen when the participation trophy generation grew up…welcome to 2020.”

I almost blocked her. But I didn’t. I swallowed the vomit in my mouth and kept scrolling.

Back to my point…I am a millennial and I am having a lot of conversations with my parents and their generation about what is happening in our country – as one does these days. My parents have been so respectful, humble, open and honest and we’ve sent each other YouTube videos and read articles on both sides of the arguments.

One thing I noticed as we were interacting is that behind all of our arguments. Behind all of our bullet points and stats is a fundamental war between the head and the heart.

Older generation wants the younger generation to THINK.
Younger generation wants the older generation to FEEL.

I watched a video by a conservative black economist who made an interesting observation that a lot of “young people” are so emotionally moved and passionate but don’t have facts to back up what they believe.

A sentiment rooted in hopes and dreams, but with no bearing on reality.
And to be honest, it stings a little, because I know there’s some truth to it.

I know that I don’t have the patience to do the research REALLY required to explore the economic, social, spiritual and psychological ramifications of the decisions that I EMOTIONALLY feel need to be made. I mean, I’ve done it – a FEW times – and it is HARD ASS WORK. And I’m tired. And I AM emotional about what is happening. And I’m used to google searches and blasting off a tweet.

It made me sit and think…maybe I need to slow down. Engage my head. Think logically. Understand the data.

So, I take that challenge. Yes.

BUT…if I’ve learned anything through my work with the Enneagram. We are only healthy when we are able to integrate all THREE centers of intelligence and are not overly-relying on just one.

So, if I can take the challenge to engage more of my THINKING, then may I also offer a challenge to the older generation…

Would you consider engaging more with your HEART?

Would you consider that not everything can be solved with cold hard facts?
Would you consider that your past life experiences, trauma, etc. could be POTENTIALLY causing you to shut off or disconnect from your heart in such a way that you are not FULLY able to process or understand what is happening in a way that is healthy and true?

And…CRAZY SUGGESTION ALLERT….could we BOTH stand to learn from each other? And would that MAYBE be our way forward?

Next time you are having a conversation with someone around these issues….listen carefully and you will find they are asking you one of two things:

• Slow down and engage more with productive thinking
• Open your heart and feel what is happening in the world

If you can see that and hear that, we might all be able to listen better, expand a bit and find some common ground.