Ecotrain Question of the Week - Does the saying "You should respect your elders" still hold true today?
You have survived this life,
You have passed all the challenges that this world has tested you with,
Because you still stand here today.
You have witnessed great changes,
You have lived through world war, desperate poverty, and incredible technological change.
You have seen this world,
In ways I will never know.
This world is changing moment by moment,
And you are still here,
Standing, listening, witnessing.
Wisdom is not something to be learned,
Wisdom is earned,
Through decades of experience.
In your silence I see your truth,
Sometimes there is nothing to say,
Sometimes there is nothing that can be said.
If we are not ready to listen,
Why bother to speak?
Does experience matter?
Do the years of life that you have lived have value?
Does your wisdom still hold true today?
What can I learn from your 60 years?
Please tell me, what can I learn from you?
What is your wisdom?
Where does it come from?
Why would you even want share it with us at all?
A wise man can learn more from a fool
Than a fool can from a wise man.
Perhaps we are fools?
Should we blame you for this world?
Should we look up and say, you made it this way?
Why should I respect those whom dont understand or know me as I am?
What can you possibly offer me, with your ancient values?
If i could learn from your experiences, instead of my own,
Would that make me wise?
Can I not find out for myself...
Why I need to look after this body...
Why I need to eat well...
Why I need to nurture my family connections...
Why I need to honor my mother and father...
Why I need to look after those I love even if they don't...
Why I need to honor you?
Wisdom is prescious,
Experience is timeless,
Knowledge is power.
You have them all, and I honor you for that,
Becuase if I do not,
I can not honor myself.
What honor is there in judgement of what we can never truly know?
How can I ever really understand you,
Until I have been you?
How can I learn to listen?
How can I let you in?
Please dear elder, show me the way
I am but a child.
I really like this @eco-alex, there is just such a huge lack of respect in the world today, we really need to respect other peoples opinions especially when they are trying to bring about a more peaceful existence for everyone. The majority of elders in the world should have our respect, it is unfair to paint them all with the same brush because some elders have been very destructive and dominant. I have seen too many times people being discriminated against because of a few 'bad eggs'. Really beautiful words, well done x
Finally someone gets it xxxxxx love!
Preach! There is enough division by categorisation, isn't there. It's too easy to write off one or an entire group of people by their age or their politics or whatever and this type of thin thinking that leads us to cartooning people is exactly what we don't need moving forward.
exactly very well said @sue-stevenson
Respect is earned.
I would argue being on this planet longer does not inherently earn you respect unless you've used that time wisely and learned from that time.
intersting.. im curious what you think it takes to earn your respect? Are there specific things that an elder needs to do to gain your respect?
I agree with @somethingsubtle here. All our political leaders ranging from Justin Trudeau(Yes he is 46) to Donald Trump are elders. It is not the age or gender that has to get respected, but the deeds and attitude! Many people live the same year 80 times and call it a life. Considering the vastness of the entire universe, our lifetime is insignificant even if it is 120 years. From a broader point of view, one should respect (That doesn't mean bow the head) others purely based on their actions. Even 5 year old child is capable of earn respect!
Live. Teach. Listen.
The inherent beauty of youth is that they will bring a beginner's mind to all things. Some of the tragedy of an elder is that they will approach new problems with old solutions and think themselves wise.
"Respect your elders" is like saying all traditions should be respected just because they are traditions. This is simply not true. Some traditions in this world are horrid, vile things that should be reconsidered and removed since they tear down more than they build up.
@eco-alex. I'm not entirely sure if this was purposely done, but was this poem also meant to be read from the perception of the reader as an elder? Were the series of questions meant to be answered from our own self awareness, and in turn, we subconciuously manifest a purpose in which we, the reader, becomes the elder that is worthy such respect?
If so, thank you. Thank you for giving a voice to our inner dialogue.
Thank u! And you are right! It was meant to bring the reader to the empathy feeling of being an elder.. to have a compassion for what it might be like to be in that position. Thanks for really reading this!
I love living in a culture (Thailand) where age is automatically respected. And yet, even within this culture of automatic respect, there is a gentle delineation between elders who have led and are worthy of more than the usual respect, and those who have simply held on and are somewhat scarred and battle-damaged. Even those elders who have made choices we, or 'society' may disagree with, they are still our teachers at this point and still worthy of being acknowledged as such. This is an important post. Much gratitude.
Beautiful! Happy to read this!
Great question and debate here thanks ecoalex.
Respect should be a given for everyone and thing regardless of age, wisdom or achievement.
Some people carry old souls when reincarnated and are inherently wise at a tender age. Others are just beginning their soul journey and remain unwise in old age - I am thinking specifically of my dear Father here who at 85 is blinkered and refuses new ideas and is worldly unwise!
The wise elders have much to contribute to our world as do the wise young guns but in essence this is irrelevant as respect should be universal.
Respectfully :)
xox
I agree respect should be universal.. with particular emphasis on respect for our elders ;))
@eco-alex though the words are heart touching and i always belive is respecting elders...atleast this is what i learnt frim my parents. But i believe the current generation is straying away.....and to many extent its there parent whome i held responsible for spoiling the kids. Due their influnce, new gen kids started drinking alchohal in front of their parent...and parents have no objection to it....well indian culture doesnt allow atleast....but western influnces started to show the impact on indian culture..
Excellent
I respect those elders who deserve respect
This is a really big question.
And it is several questions, that need to be answered separately.
1) Should "old" people be respected, because they are older? In a world that is turning its back on the old ways, the old people do not have much in the way of guidance towards the new.
As in, we, as a planet, are moving into peace. World peace is happening, however all of the old warmongering, and all of the hippy-dippy anti-war people all say stupid things that prevent peace from existing.
So, if you listen to the old people who say, there is an enemy behind every rock, or the old people that say "never judge anyone" than you will be kept from this path of peace.
2) "Old people are wiser". This may have been true, before TV, brainwashing and propaganda made most of the people merely broken records of propaganda gone by.
They have never learned any wisdom. They are only a collection of sound bites. And it doesn't matter if you are 20 or 80, these people have almost nothing to give a future society. They are not wise, in fact, most haven't even thought.
3) There is a lot of information that can be learned from someone who has been there / done that. It looks like we are repeating the cycle of the great depression. With tent cities and everything. And it would be good if we listened to those who did this before.
We are repeating the same cycle that brought hitler to power. There have been many aged Germans in america who have said, "they said the same thing" (back in 1940)
However, with our bias against the non-tech savy old fuddy-duddies. We do not listen. Like, really, what do they know? Besides, that generation left us to fend for ourselves, home alone, as they went to work and socials.
So, what i look for is wisdom. Whether the person is 5, 25 or 75. I honor wisdom.