A close friend moved to Alaska then, Buffalo and now lives in the Deep South. I’ve known her for over 50 years: including her parents, siblings, grandparents and of course, the dog (Jenny, FYI). We have been best friends since I was three and she was five. She’s always been a woman who has had more guts than me…not only did she move to Alaska, she opened a vegan restaurant in the one U.S. state who’s populous hunts for food.
I was a woose—New York City, career, climb, swim with the sharks, date, career, write a book, small apartment, hired, fired, swim with the sharks, eat.
The cool shift is this: I admire those including GenZ’s and Millennial’s who simply consider life’s “off time” as important as “work time”. Not easy for us Baby Boomers to compartmentalize. We just were never taught boundaries. Go go, run run, push push, don’t take no for an answer, money, status– food stamps. Never get to a place one would need food stamps.
I never considered doing something wild like move to Alaska. But here we are in 2019 and for some, admiring millennials and Gen Z who pick up and go. Experience. Travel. Taste. Smell. Hear. See. Touch.
As we move forward together, it’s critical to know we need to learn from our elders and what our elders need to do respect and harness the fresh generations.
Pick up and Go. See your best friend from kindergarten. Run to Charleston or another city you have never visited. Go for that hike in the mountains. Spend time with your mom. It’s worth every single second. Work will still be there when you get back.