Cherishing our Elders

It is often tough these days to find a few minutes to sit down with our loved ones; wives and husbands, sons and daughters, and make sure they are doing ok, listen to their concerns and stories of the day, and quite simply spend time together.  Often times, when we do spend time with them, we are constantly caught up in the stresses of the day or their stresses and end up frustrated or end up letting our minds drift to other issues we are dealing with.  With very little time left at the end of the day, what happens to those in our lives who raised us, poured their life and love into making sure that we grew up the best we can.  It seems that often times, these elders in our lives are neglected or cast aside unknowingly.  Granted, at times they can act like little children, telling us how to live, what we are doing wrong, and how they would do things differently.  Maybe, however, we should listen a little more to them and ignore them less. 

Our parents, and especially our grandparents, grew up in vastly different worlds than the one we currently live in now.  The world has undergone such a rapid change and progression over that past century that it is sometimes tough for our older generation to keep up with the times, often adhering to their beliefs and notions that are rooted in the past.  There is nothing wrong with this, it is simply their way of holding on to their reality and not get swept away in all the modern confusion.   It seems that when we interact with our elders, we approach these interactions with a modern spin, not attempting an understanding of their point of view or where they are coming from.  It is difficult to understand everything about the world they grew up in, but if we sit and listen, we can get a glimpse into a fantastically different world that is ripe with vivid memories and stories of their youth that can seem like fiction to us. 

It sometimes takes an incredible deal of patience to deal with our elders.  After all, they raised us and no matter how much we would like to deny it, the apple does not fall far from the tree.  For the most part, we grow up embodying many of the traits that we tried to avoid in our parents.  It is unavoidable.  That makes dealing with them sometimes very frustrating.  If we can look past this frustration and simply listen, we can learn a lot from them.  Sometimes it is enough just to be a sounding board for them to tell their stories to.  Do they still try and control us at times and dictate how we should do things?  Yes, but why chastise them.  Let them voice their opinion and move on.  Just because they tell you how to do things doesn't mean you have to listen to them.  If you smile and nod, often times it is enough to placate them. 

Our elders will not be around forever.  They, as the rest of us, have a limited time on this earth.  We should play a distinct role in making their time as comfortable as possible, after all, they did that for us when we were younger.   As tough as it is to find extra time in our days and weeks, we should make a concerted effort to spend more time with our elders and learn from them, the hardships they went through, and the good times they had when they were younger.  It used to be that the history of a family was passed down generation to generation through the stories that elders told to their youth.  How many of us these days can recount the stories of our grandparents or even spend enough time to learn about them?  Our family history is a distinct part of who we are, how we grew up, and why we live the way we do today.  We should all invest more time in learning about our own histories.  Take advantage of the time you have with your elders and learn your own family history.  If we start now, then our children will have the ability to learn the stories and pass them down in turn.  Let us lift up our elders and spend time with them instead of casting them to the side and dismissing them.  They are still our family and deserve our time and respect just as our children do.