"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it" Albert Einstein

I am aware that hindsight affords 20:20 vision and that each generation's actions are a critique of what has gone before. I am also aware that in this period of uncertainty, Gen Y is highly critical of the Boomer generation for being profligate.

I hope, however, Gen Y leaders will look beyond the last 40 years and remember that the illusions of certainty in recent years is a very modern phenomenon. I hope too that they will seek to understand the experiences that shaped the attitudes and expectations of the last 40 years, rather than simply judging them as wanting.


And so  it was that Boomers were born into a world convulsed by tragedy and fatigued by want arising from two world wars and a Great Depression.

Therefore, I ask Gen Y to look beyond and to  find an understanding of their place in history. For me Vera Brittain's A Testament of Youth,  is an eulogy to a doomed generation that gives me clarity about my role in history: as beneficiary of sacrifices of previous generations and in turn, benefactor to future generations. 


So, find a way past being angry about the failings of recent years and find a way to raise your level of consciousness but; do it with compassion and humility in the knowledge that you too will make your share of mistakes. 


Now is a huge opportunity because there is no space of hubris. Find those with whom to critically reflect upon what has gone before and seize valuable lessons that are to be had.