One of the things I’ve been practicing more often is living with intention. Buying things with intention. Grocery shopping with intention. Essentially, I feel as though I am unlearning the culture I grew up with. Hustling.
Its extremely helpful that I have a son who is a part of Gen Z. As you may have guessed I’m a Millennial. Lucky me. My parents are Boomers, my grandparents (really I only had one grandma who was still alive that I was close to growing up) were the Silent Generation. I find it so fascinating that an entire group of people can find things they can relate to with eachother. But where I am now in my life, I am unlearning what it means to be a Millenial. I am learning a lot from the generation behind us, learning what it means to be intentional. And I really admire that about them. I love that they refuse to accept less than their worth. I love that its trendy to shop at thrift stores. To consider saving the earth. I love that they seem to value their time. That they aren’t impressed by killing themselves for money. In fact, they want to do less for the same price.
When I moved to work from home two years ago my entire life changed overnight. For good. The old me died, never to return. But it’s taken two years to adjust to my new self, to look around and evaluate how I can live better. Slow down. Only buy what I need. I realized that what comes along with hustle culture is also buying in excess. Purchasing without thinking. Maybe just to feel something. But when you aren’t caught in that hamster wheel anymore you don’t feel the need to roam the ailes of Target every day. To fill your cart up aimlessly. You don’t walk the mall, enter stores, forget what you even went there for. You realize the thrill of getting more for less. Donating clothes you don’t wear anymore, then shopping to replace them. Six shirts for the price of what one would be in a box store. Maybe only shopping a few times throughout the year.
At any point you can stop and evaluate what you enjoy about the way you are living. Does it feel good? Are you wasteful? Are you making the most of your time? Are you being intentional? Maybe it isn’t a generational thing at all, maybe its just me. What I know is that I’m constantly learning. Trying to be better, continuing to grow. Loving who I’m becoming in every sense of the word. And I’m not afraid to admit that I can learn from both young and old. That maybe the younger generation is seeing things with fresh eyes. That maybe that have some good ideas on how we can better live our lives.
The Girl Without A Face 