The Great Generation Gap

The Great Generation Gap-Its Consequences and Solutions



Well Time is said to be one of the most significant role player in the world and yes it plays its

role both in the positive as well as negative sense. It is said to be the best healer-the problem solver.

But this time has created one of the most detrimental problems of all times-The generation

Gap. God created humans so that they may live a life where they would harmoniously live with

each other. Most of us at least in our families try to do so. But the moment the question of any

ideology comes, Oh my God it is nothing less than a World war.

The minimum difference between two generations is always around 25-30 years. We as

individuals are not able to understand that the world is a changing place. Everything in the

world is at motion. Even now while  I  am sitting on my cozy chair, I am at motion because of earth’s

rotation.

But now comes the biggest issue: Humans resist change. Change is the law of nature as I

mentioned above. The earth’s rotation being a good example.

But as Newton mentioned in his first law: The law of inertia that “a body will always try to

remain in its original state and resist change until and unless compelled by an external force”

Time is that external force. Time changes people, but we want to resist the change. Man always

violates nature. This is the reason for all our troubles. Look at the life of plants. They follow God

and nature blindfoldedly. Take the example of a sunflower. It moves itself according to the

position of the Sun. Had we been at their place we would not have liked to do so as we always

think that we are right and we would have expected the Sun to always face us.:P

This generation gap is having serious consequences in many families. Loved ones get separated

from each other; there are fights over petty issues. The parents love their children so much and

that too unconditionally without expecting anything in return. But when ideologies clash there

is very little compromise.

One of the most devastating effects due to generation gap is on marriages. The caste issue

and generation gap intermix in such a fashion that they create catastrophic results for many

individuals. They are left helpless about whether they should go by the ideology funda or the

practical logical funda. They are emotionally so bound that they have just two options of either

going against their family which has created them and has raised them to such a level, or to

follow their parents guidelines and crush their hearts.



So how we should deal with it-Is there any solution?



Well there is a phrase”Every problem has a solution hidden in it and if you can’t find the

solution you are the problem.” It can’t get simpler than this. And this issue is no different.

Well I am of the thinking that we should always attack the root cause of each problem. So the

root cause of the generation Gap issue is that neither we nor our older generations want to

understand each other as we resist change. So how to bring about this nature’s law of change

into action.

The only way to do so is not just to think very logically but also to see the perspective of the

person we are dealing with.

If I would bring an ancient person and show him a computer he would suffer from a heart

attack. Why? Because he is not accustomed to it. So it is our duty to make him accustomed

to the changed environment. Similarly it is our younger generation’s responsibility to make the

older generation realize that change is the law of nature and it is always for the good.

So let us take the example of the caste issue. What is the basic problem between the two

generations on this very critical issue?

Well the only problem is that we don’t understand the feelings of each other. Our parents care

a lot about us. They have many aspirations and dreams for us. But the issue is that they see things

from a fixed frame of reference which is just theirs. On the other hand we being 20-25 ahead in

time have a different frame of reference. This relative difference between the frames is the

root cause of all problems.

So how to reduce this gap. The only way is to get into each other’s frame. If we understand our

parents and they understand our emotions all the problems get solved.

One bigger problem is what the world, society, neighbors etc. etc. say. We the younger

generation is getting above these odds. It is high time we make our older generation

understand. Why don’t we make them understand that this society which we are so much

concerned is just a pseudo one sided world. They are always there with you in your good times,

but the moment anything bad happens they will stab in your back and will come to sympathize

on your face. It is only our parents and the very closed knit family which we should be

concerned and which matters. Our neighbours/society are not who should interfere in our lives.

Yes we are social animals and live in a society but there are limits and it is only our family and

very close friends who should interfere in our personal life.

The day both the generation understands the logic which I have given at least one issue due

to generation gap will be resolved.

I can just hope that TIME will just prove that it is not the best healer but the best mediator

between generations………………………☺