The Gift of An Old Story

The older I get, the more I appreciate thought-provoking conversations with people. Especially with older people. It may have something to do with my vested interest in people, their actions, and humanity in general, but I think it may also have something to do with the fact that my inner circle is constantly changing, which speaks to my own evolution. Like most people, I strive to have a strong support system because I know that the direction I plan to take with my life will require strength. And while I like to pretend that my strength is innate (and partially it is), I know that my strength comes from other strong people.  Because I have always found deep power in words more so than actions, I derive my greatest strength from listening. I know some of the best talkers. Most of them are older, and I can credit them with being the best talkers because they’ve mastered the art of listening to other great talkers. So I love talking to my mom, grandmother, great aunts and uncles because they hold so much knowledge about people. I can ask them any questions I want, and I don’t have to feel like I’m in some kind of intellectual boxing match. There’s no underlying tension to prove who knows more, which is fostered by and passed on to young people through academia.

Older people have been there and done all that. They can see through all the foolishness and they love using their experiences as teaching tools. I’m coming to understand that in order to battle my twenty-somethings, I desperately need these tools in my back pocket. Whatever that saying is about needing the past in order to navigate through your present and beyond, it’s true. And older people are your portal to the past. I’m not saying that their stories will make this journey of “finding thine self” an easy one, but it can definitely provide you with a little hope—what you’re going through is not unique; somebody else has been there.

So look to some older person when you need guidance that your friends can’t give you. The worst that can happen is that nothing they say helps. At least you’re always bound to hear a really good story.