The Legacy Project has systematically collected practical advice from
over 1500 older Americans who have lived through extraordinary
experiences and historical events. They offer tips on surviving and
thriving despite the challenges we all encounter.
What Is Old Age For?
An African proverb says, “The death of an old person is like the loss
of a library.” In these words are embedded the important role given to
older adults in many African cultures. After a person has productively
lived his or her life as an adult in the community, he or she is
honored by initiation into the elder circle. This usually happens
around the age of 65.
These elders, now masters of the school of life, have the
responsibility for facilitating the transition from childhood to
adulthood of new generations. They are responsible for and oversee the
process of initiation. The idea of elders as “library” also reveals the
fact that only the elders have full access to the tribe's knowledge
base. The elders safeguard the highest secrets of the tribe and protect
its medicine and inner technologies. They incarnate the wisdom of the
society, which they happily share, often in the form of storytelling.
Anyone in the last half of life can attest to the difficulties, the
aching joints, the fading eyesight. What is open to interpretation is
the meaning of these changes. What if they are understood as a form of
preparation (not unlike adolescence) for a new life as an elder of the
community?
An African proverb says, “The death of an old person is like the loss
of a library.” In these words are embedded the important role given to
older adults in many African cultures. After a person has productively
lived his or her life as an adult in the community, he or she is
honored by initiation into the elder circle. This usually happens
around the age of 65.
These elders, now masters of the school of life, have the
responsibility for facilitating the transition from childhood to
adulthood of new generations. They are responsible for and oversee the
process of initiation. The idea of elders as “library” also reveals the
fact that only the elders have full access to the tribe's knowledge
base. The elders safeguard the highest secrets of the tribe and protect
its medicine and inner technologies. They incarnate the wisdom of the
society, which they happily share, often in the form of storytelling.
Human elders have long been known as peacemakers, and for good reason.
The physical changes that accompany advancing age make conflict, armed
and otherwise, worthless to the old. Like statesmen serving their final
terms in office, elders are freed from the tactical maneuvering that
defines the struggle for adult rank and prestige. It is this freedom
that allows them to put forth unique interpretations of the problems
faced by their families and communities. The awareness of one's
mortality that normally arises in late life—and so terrifies
adults—opens new perspectives for elders on the world in which they
live.
