Tuesday, March 16, 2010
7:14 PM | Posted by
Unknown
We have perhaps 70-80 years of this life to learn the lessons that mortality has for us before we are called home for the rest of our eternal lives. Our time here is truly short. As each generation enters this stage and begins their journey of discovery, it is our elders who have been here the longest who teach us the lessons they have learned.
It has occurred to me that the most valuable of lessons the older generation has to pass on to the rest of us is their perspective. As I walked across campus today, I thought of those who have come before. What have the kapunas, the elderly, experienced in their lifetimes that create what I know as my history? The study of these individual histories, and the collective histories of each generation before them are what paint the picture of the development of our human race. Without this picture, without these stories what am I left with?
By myself I lack the perspective I need to pass valuable knowledge on to my children. By myself I can only have a somewhat skewed view of reality, since it is only from one perspective, and is, therefore, suspect of being laden with emotional prejudice and all my personal issues. Interestingly enough, so are our societal views of life. Such views we sometimes refer to as "culture."
True wisdom comes from listening to my elders, learning from the mistakes of their lives, the success of their lives, then balancing the lessons against the prevailing times and emerging philosophies of the day. Some things will need to change for my children, but some things were never meant to change. Some principles, such as love, honor, acceptance, tolerance, loyalty and devotion to what is good and right, must never change or we as a race will be threatened with destruction.
My mother, my own kapuna, is my best connection to that collective wisdom of the ages. She sees through hardships better than I do and can guide me to find the lessons from them. She has experienced more generations of humanity than I have and can see more clearly the trends and the consistancies of our human conscienciousness. I know that she is not flawless, though sometimes I would like to think she is. But she has always been such a source of strength and support, such a comfort in times of trial that I wonder what will happen when she is gone.
When our parents die we no longer have that final link to the generations that came before us. As we go up that ladder and become the kapuna to our children and grandchildren, will we be able to gain a greater clarity of vision? Will we be able to see more clearly the nature of the human soul to help teach those younger than we are how to better navigate their human experience than we did? The hope is that we can all answer affirmatively to these questions. If we cannot, then we are contributing to the world's end of wisdom. What a responsibility age carries with it.
It has occurred to me that the most valuable of lessons the older generation has to pass on to the rest of us is their perspective. As I walked across campus today, I thought of those who have come before. What have the kapunas, the elderly, experienced in their lifetimes that create what I know as my history? The study of these individual histories, and the collective histories of each generation before them are what paint the picture of the development of our human race. Without this picture, without these stories what am I left with?
By myself I lack the perspective I need to pass valuable knowledge on to my children. By myself I can only have a somewhat skewed view of reality, since it is only from one perspective, and is, therefore, suspect of being laden with emotional prejudice and all my personal issues. Interestingly enough, so are our societal views of life. Such views we sometimes refer to as "culture."
True wisdom comes from listening to my elders, learning from the mistakes of their lives, the success of their lives, then balancing the lessons against the prevailing times and emerging philosophies of the day. Some things will need to change for my children, but some things were never meant to change. Some principles, such as love, honor, acceptance, tolerance, loyalty and devotion to what is good and right, must never change or we as a race will be threatened with destruction.
My mother, my own kapuna, is my best connection to that collective wisdom of the ages. She sees through hardships better than I do and can guide me to find the lessons from them. She has experienced more generations of humanity than I have and can see more clearly the trends and the consistancies of our human conscienciousness. I know that she is not flawless, though sometimes I would like to think she is. But she has always been such a source of strength and support, such a comfort in times of trial that I wonder what will happen when she is gone.
When our parents die we no longer have that final link to the generations that came before us. As we go up that ladder and become the kapuna to our children and grandchildren, will we be able to gain a greater clarity of vision? Will we be able to see more clearly the nature of the human soul to help teach those younger than we are how to better navigate their human experience than we did? The hope is that we can all answer affirmatively to these questions. If we cannot, then we are contributing to the world's end of wisdom. What a responsibility age carries with it.
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