Introduction: The Path of the Elder Spirit
Creating a society in which people of different ages have relatively little contact with one another is new to western culture, one of many changes we’ve experienced in the past 100 years. Until recently, it wasn’t considered a big deal, just an outcome of many social improvements. Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are coming to realize this IS a big deal.
But is intergenerational separation merely a change or is it more of a loss?
I call it a loss. I’m not suggesting each situation should jam every generation together, but without some meaningful intergenerational interaction, we run the risk of younger people turning into Lords of the Flies, while older people become social castaways. Look around. We can see plenty of both of these things.
We don’t have to lose like this.
The Path of the Elder Spirit shares, in some way, knowledge, wisdom, experience and stories, while constantly gaining more knowledge, wisdom, experience and stories through right action. As with many traditional cultures, it lifts people out of just getting old into becoming an elder. The difference between just getting old or becoming an elder is profound.
The Path of the Elder Spirit satisfies the drive to create, the desire to connect, the need to contribute and the urge to explore. It is an intergenerational bridge that builds relationships; an eye-opening and mind-opening excursion into possibility. It is the uplift very much needed now in a time of increasing isolation, disenchantment and other funks, regardless of age.
Sometimes people have a difficult time with the word spirit. What does it mean? For now let’s just say spirit is the “behind-the-scenes” energy that makes everything work.
Resurgence
Fortunately, a lot of good people are doing a lot of good things. One is realizing that connecting different generations together with vital links of interaction is good for everybody. What’s also becoming more obvious is that connecting the generations of one culture to the generations of another is also a win-win. This includes: 1) modern science with ancestral know-how, 2) technology with archaeology and 3) the Hubble and James Webb telescopes with mythology. It’s like shuffling a deck of cards. With all the possibility and promise at hand, any hand can be a winner if we know how to play what’s been dealt. We are a most interesting species…
Although the current role of the elder is ebbing, Western culture has a strong history of revering elders. With the angst and upheaval many feel now, it may be time to re-incorporate elders into our culture to stabilize and support, not hold back, the rapid change we are undergoing now. Arlo Guthrie may call it a movement; I call it a resurgence.
Resilience
A profound difference between getting older and becoming an elder is in the quality of relationships. Quality relationships result is greater resilience. I define relationships in the broadest of terms, from intra and interpersonal, to deeply connected with the world at large. Elders have higher quality relationships because of actions they take to create and nurture them. This actually creates psychological resilience, the ability to adapt and bounce back, for everyone connected.
To many, life has become way too complicated. Disruption piles on distraction. There is no limit to the situations we can single out. However, the real joy and strength of becoming an elder is to make life more complex, not complicated. This is a topic for another time. (It might be too complicated to go into now!)
Response
Some would say that by looking at the angst and disconnect among all generations that nothing like this has really ever happened before. That’s likely true. Experiencing things that have never happened before is part of the human condition. It’s unavoidable. Yet, the response can be directed. Directing is also part of the Path of the Elder Spirit.
Does this mean only elders have a say and make decisions? Absolutely not! Everyone needs to have a voice. However, elders can help assure there is vision behind decision when that type of input is needed. As Marc Freedman says, “Society grows great when older people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.”
The thing is, we just don’t agree on what it would look like for a society to grow great. Few people act intentionally to bring about one’s own demise, let alone a society’s. Yet, it does happen. So, the Path of the Elder Spirit is visionary.
This is the thought behind making major decisions with the welfare of the next seven generations in mind. It’s an act of love and creation for our children, grandchildren and beyond. If we do that, chances are we’ll have it pretty good, too.
Acting upon vision is a constant act of re-creation made by being present…
There are plenty of good sites that address things such as work after retirement, finances, travel, self-fulfillment and more. They offer great ways for Boomers and Gen Xers to get better when getting older, but few address the real personal transformation possible when becoming an elder. They might approach it, but basically look at the world through the same, albeit cleaner, lens.
Time-tested; Elder-approved
This blog focuses on expanding the Path of the Elder Spirit through involvement, evolvement and intimate refinement of relationships through right actions. What will that get you…besides involvement, evolvement and refinement of relationships? A much larger view of the world and reality, that then becomes part of your legacy to younger generations.
But there’s no need to start and stop with a legacy. Through right action, everyone has more “resources” upon which to draw. Right action creates abundance. This means greater resiliency to and appreciation for set backs and challenges, as well as just greater appreciation for the magic, mystery and every dayness of life.
Sometimes all it takes is a slight tweak in perception, in reflection, or thought to make a quantum leap to new realization.
© Steve Guettermann 2023
