For now we see though a glass darkly!
Love one another as I have loved you. –God
What do we see when we look at the elderly? Do we see the elderly as sick, despised, rejected, lonely or defeated, bitter and resigned to their fate? Do we see the elderly clinging to a hope for somebody’s – or anybody’s – affection or even recognition of their existence? Do we truly ‘see’ the elderly – the fully human person? Do we look deeply into the eyes of the elderly and see the wonder of their soul and the spirit that resides within? Do we imagine the elderly praying for the release that comes with death? Do we see the elderly as deprived AND forgotten, in charge yesterday and outcasts today? Do we see the elderly as wise or foolish? Do we seek to hear and honor their stories or do we pray that they hold their tongues? Do we see the elderly as searchers and seekers and learners or do we see them as burnt-out – the fire in their belly has been extinguished and they are filling with dense smoke and suffocating from within? Do we believe we owe the elderly reverence – perhaps they simply want consideration, certainly they don’t want to be discarded nor forgotten? Do we see the elderly as equals; do we seek to grant them equality? Do we see that caring for the elderly is a privilege, not as an act of charity? Do we remember that there is no reverence of God without reverence of the elderly? Do we view ‘advancing in years’ as movement forward revealing pathways of possibility or as a retreat into the past? Do we seek to tolerate the elderly or do we seek to honor the elderly? Do we invite the elderly to bring and share their story, their voice, their wisdom and their gifts? Do we believe the elderly can, and do, contribute to our well-being or do we wish they would capitulate and disappear? Do we want the elderly to challenge or conform? Do we invite the elderly to co-create or comply? Do we invite the elderly to freely choose or to be compliant? Do we believe that the enemy of the elderly is indifference? Do we strive to extend care, compassion and empathy to the elderly – do we truly seek to ‘walk in their shoes’ AND do we seek to walk ‘with them’? Do we believe Frederich Buechner when he tells us that: Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside of somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy for you’? Do we seek to help the elderly understand – there is so much to understand, starting with seeking to understand one’s self as one ages? WHO is this ‘WE’ I’ve been noting? This ‘WE’ is the young, the adult and ‘WE’ the elderly ourselves!
We convince by our presence. –Walt Whitman
Searcher-Seeker 