Ellen Graham wrote an essay
for the weekend Wall Street Journal (November 14-15) that caught my eye. It discusses the value of looking at the past
and the value in listening to our elders.
It is unfortunate that we focus on the negative aspects of aging instead
of on the positives. My cousin reminded
me of this when she told be about a funeral that she had attended recently for
a woman who had been one of the first women pilots. Recently a resident where I work told me
about how she had traveled in a covered wagon as a girl. How cool is that! Think about the interesting stories that they
could have told us if we had taken the time to listen. Instead we rolled our eyes and let them glaze
over when grandma said “in the old days.”
Well shame on us!
I loved reading historical
novels when I was a kid. I was fascinated by tales of ordinary people who lived
in a different time. Who knew that we
had some of these stories right in our own family? World events happen so rapidly that we forget
that those wonderful stories took place in a time not that long ago. So sit up and listen when I tell you that I
really did attend one of those one room school houses and I really did walk 3
miles to school in waist high snow.
Reminiscing is not a bad
thing and it should not be discouraged.
Think of it as a form a therapy. Dr. Gene D. Cohen maintains that reminiscing
can lead to self awareness, self acceptance and resolution of conflict, in his
book “The Mature Mind. So, don’t roll
your eyes when mom mulls the past, it is a necessary part of growing
older. In this day and age of video
games, texting and tweeting, it is more important than ever to maintain the
oral traditions that have been with us since the beginning of time.
Comments