“Those who respect the elders pave their own road toward success.” – African Proverb
How does one become wise? How does one become a Sage? There are many ways to take this journey.
We don’t realize how wise we are or how much of a Sage we are until we start to age and listen. One we hop off the competition train, the train to job promotion and the train to more and better toys, we start to go within and look for what we have stored up inside.
We start to pull out old memories and look at the value in them. Things and memories that have lied dormant for a year. We were too busy to allow them to surface, though if we had they would have helped us along the way.
We all have stories of how we got to wisdom land. If you are not there yet, I have one piece of advice, one recommendation. Listen to the elders. Pull from them, they are full of things that will save you a lot of trouble, if you but listen.
“Youth look at the future, the elders look at the past, our ancestors live in the present.” – African Proverb
This is my experience and story about listening to the elders.
Until I started first grade, all my friends were 50 years old. I was raised by my grandmother, and I went with her everywhere she went. I sat in on her club meetings, I listened to her telephone calls, and I sat at her feet as she and my aunts had those interesting conversations about life. While my peers were playing, I was listening to the wise ones.
I walked with Poppa to the Bayou Bartholomew to sit and fish for hours. He pointed out snake skins and poison ivy to me to keep me safe. He showed me edible berries. He made a wonderful drink using nothing but hot water evaporated milk and sugar – which became one of my favorite treats. We made ketchup sandwiches when Momma wasn’t around.
I learned the wisdom in simplicity. I learned about the uncomplicated life. I learned peace. I learned to see life through the eyes of the elders.
I never heard them complain, so I learned not to complain. They were accepting. I once asked, “Momma how do you stand Miss Ida?” Momma shook her head and said, “Marva, that’s just how Ida is.” So I too learned to be accepting.
I think the most important lesson I noticed and learned about the elders is that they didn’t talk very much. They didn’t talk just for the sake of talking. When the elders spoke, we listened, because wisdom poured out from the time in the quiet. The elders spent a lot of time in the quiet, so I also learned to sit in the quiet. The long walks to the bayou were quiet walks. I watched Momma sit in her rocking chair in the quiet. I learned as I watched.
The elders called this time in the quiet ‘collecting’ their thoughts. I call it my time of allowing Spirit to talk to me as I listen.
