Version 2: The Re-Eldering Manifesto
Over 65s, we need you now.
(Scroll to the bottom for the link)
A far cry from the notepad scribblings, the manifesto has become it’s ‘second stage’ form. Still messy, still full of holes and unsure of what it will fully become, but a piece of work worth the sharing.
At Blue Earth Summit, telling ancient stories and representing pause, reflection and accessing wisdom – that which you’ve ALWAYS known – I also held a workshop to explore what elderhood could mean, and how to ‘practice’ a certain element of it.
Here’s a taste (and the manifesto is linked at the bottom of this note).
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Be honest. Are you a shrinking violet or a showboat?
“Who me? It was nothing! You’re the amazing one...” or “Actually, I deserve all of the credit for that”.
(Context: Elderhood, our missing elders, what retirement could mean for the metacrisis...)
The Theory of ‘Standing In Your Power’
Here’s the theory: Many of us baulk at sincere compliments, let alone grace or honour. The balance (see the image) says it all. If we engage in deflection, denial and self-deprecation or – at the other end of the scale – seek for reward (over-inflate our contributions, work for plaudits, compliments, promotions), we make it harder to stand in our own power.
– Route 1: Showboat. We become defined by our ‘successes’. Succumbing to the fate of the people pleaser: eventual loss of meaning, loss of agency and so on.
– Route 2: Shrinking violet. We never stand in our power, listening to those who hint, or overtly suggest, “Don’t be arrogant”: falling further into obscurity.
These routes are ever present. But, at age 65, leaving the workforce, the effects of the routes above are multiplied, and the affected slowly accept new names. Names which are no longer related to their work, their achievements and progress, their ‘effectiveness when working alone or as part of a team’...
Old, infirm, over the hill, long in the tooth, elderly, retiree.
Multiplied over time, we ‘youngers’ see this model in older folks. ‘Polite, but lonely’, or ‘Belligerent and separated’ older people. We design our lives around being youthful: being successful, powerful, moneyed and so on. We further exacerbate the intergenerational disconnection. We accept that, meanwhile, our media and advertising industries dine out on the ‘young at all costs’ messaging.
“Don’t age. That’s the way forward.”
By falling off the balance in the image, we end up with no real recognition of the ‘wisdom of age’ and severely disconnected generations which means no connective tissue between the issues of the day (meta crisis, failing food systems, war, oppression, fascism) and the over 65s: the single fastest growing cohort of people (“By 2080, people aged 65 and over will outnumber children under 18.” United Nations on Ageing).
– Route 3: Standing in your power. Being earnest with your gifts and your skills, being honest with your shortfalls and the areas you need support: A life of contribution and happiness.
Another step on the journey towards elderhood.
If you want to go a little further into this, follow link to the ‘Manifesto’ below. A ‘working in the open’ document exploring this issue and, crucially, what we might actually do about it.
The Re-Eldering Manifesto: ReFIREment, not retirement