Purpose Leaders as Elders: Coming of Age at the End of An Age
/Purpose Leaders as Elders:
Coming of Age at the End of An Age
Whatever our age, who do we want to be? What did we come her to do?
What is an elder? The word elder can evoke so many different things for everyone. In most cases we think of elder as a chronological period of ones life. If you think about it we’re elders from the moment we take our first breath because we’re living in a new way of being.
An elder is a person who has chosen to step into a role, not from ego but from a sense of calling within her or his heart that says they are a carrier and communicator of certain aspects of wisdom from their life experience. As many members mentioned elders have capacity, wisdom, experience and knowledge. It is a combination of all of it and not just from one or two generations but from all of us.
We are at a time of endings in our world. We’re in a time of tremendous anxiety and grief around climate change. Many people are seeing therapists for depression and anxiety around climate change which seems to get more and more daunting, every few months. It’s the end of a lot of things in our culture that have worked for us in the past; but they’re not working for us anymore. The age of disconnectedness and separation is coming to the end because it doesn’t work anymore.
We are impatient. We are sensing urgency without panic. A patient urgency. Our job is to imagine a new nation. Imagination is an action in the commons for the public good. None of us can do this alone. We need to take all the wisdom we have, all the experience we have and all the compassion we have and find a way to channel it. We cannot do this alone. We need trusted friends. We need to be vulnerable together so that we can go into more strength and not just have to be strong all the time ourselves and true community breeds wisdom and stability. Each of us have so much necessary to bring into this world right now, authentic action in the commons for the greater good.
Thank you Craig Neal, Carolyn Baker and Terry Chapman for bring this content and powerful topic into our community. Their new program Coming of Age at the end of an Age Program starts on February 21st. It is a wonderful place for this conversation to continue. (more information about the program below.)
Greta: “Eldering not as an age, but rather a mindset. When you think of it that way it is easier to apply it as a young person. The idea of wisdom and wisdom of not having all the answers but knowing whats coming. Rather a sense of direction and having foresight based off of your own personal experiences the perspective of others. Eldering is listening to others hearing from other people having conversations learning and then applying that to your life and sharing it with others. not regretting, to waiting but taking authentic action.”
Missed last weeks conversation? Watch HERE!
Coming of Age at the end of an Age Program
8 Weeks: February 21 - April 11th (7:00 - 8:30 PM Central Time) on Zoom
Our culture’s perception of aging may seem new and revolutionary compared with earlier generations, but is it really? Do our souls really long for more opportunities to travel, more attractive long-term care facilities, or larger flat-screen TV’s for streaming and video watching? While these may effectively enhance our quality of life, they may not feed our souls.
For thousands of years, aging women and men in indigenous cultures have chosen to consciously claim the role of elder, which did not simply mean becoming older. As an elder, a person was revered for their wisdom, not just their success in living many years. Elders were not afterthoughts in their communities but actually guided them because their cultures understood how important elders were for everyone’s emotional and spiritual maturity.
Coming of Age at The End of An Age is an opportunity for participants to rediscover the joy and power of stepping into conscious elderhood along with other participants on the journey. The series has been designed to deepen our wisdom, assist us in navigating the natural limits of aging, and lovingly give back to our communities the gifts that flow from the journey of awakened aging.
If you want to be apart of own next impactful conversations, feel free to register and join us!
2/14: Making My Life Count: The Path to Purposeful Living Richard Leider
