Gen X Doesn’t Let Go—We Marinate in It

What could you let go of, for the sake of harmony?

People love tossing around this “let go for the sake of harmony” crap like it’s some sort of spiritual enlightenment. Like if I just release my grip on something I care about, the world will suddenly feel like a Bob Ross painting. Nah. Not buying it.

I’m 52 years old. A fully patched member of the Gen X club. We were raised on sarcasm, independence, and a heavy dose of “figure it out yourself.” You think I’ve held on to things for five decades just to let ’em go now? Hell no. If something’s still stuck with me at this point, it’s probably earned its damn place.

Harmony? Sure. I believe in it. But not with everyone. Not with the world. Not with coworkers who chew with their mouth open or brothers who can’t shut up about politics. I’m not interested in bending over backwards to keep the peace with people who wouldn’t do the same for me.

You know who I do care about harmony with? My 3 dogs. They don’t judge. They don’t gossip. They don’t leave passive-aggressive notes on the fridge. My wife? Absolutely. She’s the calm in my chaos and the only human whose opinion actually matters to me. If she says something’s gotta change, I’ll at least listen—might not do it, but I’ll hear her out. The rest of the world? Screw it.

Let go for harmony? No thanks. I’ve spent a lifetime building up this personality, this attitude, this comfort zone of zero bullshit. I’m not interested in letting go of the pieces that make me me, just to appease people I don’t even like.

You want harmony? Adopt a dog. Hug your spouse. Light a candle if you’re into that zen stuff. But don’t ask me to give up my convictions, my boundaries, or my opinions. I’ve earned every damn one of them.

And I’m keeping them.