My wife and I attended a concert recently. That is the best word I can use to describe it, but it was actually just a quartet of string musicians. They perform renditions of music from well-known artists at venues across the country. This night they were performing popular songs by Coldplay. The venue was incredible. It was a small church, illuminated only by candlelight, and densely decorated with flowers. It was intimate and peaceful. I can’t claim to be a sophisticated lover of the arts. I don’t attend many concerts, certainly not symphonies. I don’t go to art galleries or museums. I can barely sit through a movie. But this was one of the most captivating and moving experiences I‘ve had. The music and setting were beautiful, but it was that combined with the inability to move or talk. It’s not that you’re physically restricted from doing those things, but the rules of the event and social expectations strongly discourage it. This essentially made it an hour-long meditation session. During that hour, I went through the whole gamut of emotions. I had overwhelming feelings of joy and gratefulness. I thought about my life as a whole and how fortunate I was to attend such an event. I thought about my wife and children, my career, my parents, my friends. I developed an admiration and envy of the musicians. Forcing myself into that level of concentration and stillness is something I have not done in my adult life, but now something I crave and acknowledge as profoundly beneficial. Aside from that, I walked away knowing that I am definitely going to force my kids to play a classical instrument. For context, I am a millennial. At least anecdotally, I don’t think my generation has any appreciation for true art. I don’t think we are capable of that kind of stillness and contemplation. Sure, mediation is promoted heavily, but I don’t know anyone who does it strictly, and certainly not for extended periods of time. I also believe that if a fellow millennial does meditate, it is because they believe it is socially acceptable and admirable. It’s more related to a persona than something done out of pleasure. There is so much negativity surrounding my generation. We are selfish, lazy, and entitled. I believe this is partly because we have lost this appreciation for things like art and religion. I am not religious, but I can now see the benefit of going to a religious ceremony if only for the reasons I described above. It is a setting in which you are essentially forced to remain still and quiet. This is a skill that has been lost by my generation, and probably all generations since.