I just saw a viral video saying millennials could be the last generation to have experienced the world when it was truly beautiful. But hang on, there’s more to the story… As someone who graduated in the class of 1989, I’ll give it to you straight. The 80s were everything they say, but we didn’t know it at the time. And there is a way back, so hear me out. The great irony was back in the 80s, the device you’re holding in your hand would’ve been our ultimate fantasy. I remember my fifth grade teacher telling me she admired us because we’d live to see things beyond her imagination in the 21st-century. She was right, but something unexpected happened on the way to the digital revolution. So sure, we have this fantasy device now and games we could only dreamed about in the 80s, but if you would’ve said that we would have to trade staying out till the street lights came on, laying in a field staring at the sky bored as the imagination fed daydreams, and neighborhood gangs, I would have said … whoa. Why is that? We loved seeing Pong turn into Space Invaders, then Pac-Man, then Mario brothers and beyond, but we all wanted more. It’s nobody’s fault, it’s the human condition, likely the ever-expanding universe, reaching out for more. And so my generation, known as X, built the networks that connect us all. Tech miracles we couldn’t have even dreamed of in the 80s are now so common place that the many born after 1998 know nothing different. Will millennials be the last to know what it’s like to commune with a bird out the window? I say not so fast, for as anyone who watches my other videos knows, I’m an eternal optimist, but with realistic expectations. I believe can we can bring the good times of the 80s back, at least on an individual basis. The question is, who can add a touch of delay, of discipline to just even step outside and stretch, to look up at the sky, maybe to meet that bird… Today, mental health seems to come down to who can take some mindful moments before diving into the instant gratification/isolation our tech brings. Maybe that could bring back some of the raw human authenticity, the random chaos of nature that makes life itself the content. Of course, here I am so i too love technology and it’s possibilities. However, I realize its nuclear potential can be used for good or bad. As a creator, I work to ensure when I’m producing lifts up our consciousness. Because let’s be real … (Show apple vision) the tech isn’t going away, it’s only getting more immersive now, so far from the innocent living rooms or arcades of the 80s. Sadly, as someone who cares about the effect of my content on humanity, I’m in the minority. But my numbers are growing, the people who believe tech miracles can enhance rather than overshadow nature, the Cosmos and ourselves. If the richest men in the world put a fraction into exploring human consciousness that they do to reach Mars, we’d go to Red Planet and far, far beyond. Just ask Einstein, who brought forth the theory of relativity from a dream, exploring consciousness on his couch. The way back is a touch of self-discipline. I call them gateways, like before I look at a screen, I do several stretches, express gratitude to my source and set intentions. On the best day, I’ll go outside too and find that bird… We can make the mighty algorithm more our psychological friend than an enemy. It watches where you put your attention, and then feeds that more energy. So does the universe…. The choice is yours. 🙏✨ #life #healthy #wisdom #truths #digital #millennial #genz #genx #1980s #1990s #joedrummerboy