The Gen Z Trait We Could All Embrace Right Now
While in my last job, I spent a lot of time researching Gen Z and what makes them tick. I was already fascinated by the voices and values of the generation just a few years younger than me, admiring their inherent understanding of lessons that took me years to learn. Mostly, I was excited that there was finally a generation that the older folks weren't rolling their eyes over (says salty Millenial). While deep in this research, I came across a study conducted by The Irregular Labs on Gen Z and Fluidity. In it, Molly Logan and her team broke down the Gen Z core value of equipoise:
"Members of (Gen Z) define themselves by their likes as much as their dislikes, their birth gender as much as their chosen gender, their friends as much as their enemies, and so on. One is no more valid nor important than the other.
All of these seemingly disparate pieces are simply a web of information that, like the multiple apps or files open on their computers/phones, live in a suspended state of harmony and balance... This capacity for accepting and integrating “differences” brings us to what, in our opinion, is the most revolutionary characteristic of Gen Z: No contradictions. This is a generation that simply does not see them" (The Irregular Report 2: Fluidity).
There is speculation that millions of Americans could die from COVID-19, the average age of those dying sitting right around the birthday both my parents most recently celebrated. My friends on the frontlines, like Dr. M, a 4-months-pregnant ER Doc, are reporting dire conditions and ethical decisions that they never thought they'd have to make when they entered the field. I'm unemployed, as is my partner, and the impending Recession (or is it Depression?) means we likely will be for the next while. There are not enough masks, inhalers or ventilators and a surplus of false promises, accusations and empty words from government officials.
And yet...
In the slow down, I've gone for long, deliberate walks, noticing the exact moment the cherry blossoms tickle my nose and the sun strikes my cheeks. I've played Bananagrams while eating homemade ramen at lunch, painted a somewhat recognizable landscape, and started a Marco Polo dance choreography challenge with some long-distance friends. I've slept late, biked long distances and sat for an hour with my legs up the wall, taking in the complexities of jazz (a genre I hadn't before given a chance).
For those of us who's biggest civic duty during this crisis is to stay on the couch, who have the immense privilege of "buckling down and riding it out" and can reach into savings and stock options to survive- the turbulence of toggling between "it's the end of the world as I know it" and "this is the most relaxed I've been in a minute" is jarring.
So how do we wrangle with the opposing truths that while the world is enduring a pandemic, we are finally, finally unwinding from the capitalistic stress to succeed and do?
By embracing equipoise- the balance of opposing truths- the near-enlightenment-level characteristic that Gen Z has seemed to grasp so easily.
We can embrace this time to come back to ourselves (again, checking our privilege in doing so): to paint for fun, to make a cringe-worthy Tik Tok, to teach an Instagram live yoga class and try not to kill a Sourdough starter. We can wake up with our hearts beating out of our chests from an anxiety-induced night terror, get lost on COVID subreddits and have to work really hard to get out of the bed in the morning.
Somewhere between the wrenching heartache for the patients and providers fighting this pandemic and the sun-filled Zoom family happy hours sits the truth: anxiety and surrendering can co-exist, and with equal parts self-compassion and profound empathy, we will get through.
Click here to learn more about foundational wellness.
