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| Elders as Earth Advocates and Partners with Youth, © 8-20-08 Judith Pruess-Mellow, Ph.D., M.Div., Exec. Dir., Senior New Ways |
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The world is in trouble. Countless articles and websites, and especially, the research and
conclusions of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), attest to the fact of
global warming. We have gotten ourselves into this predicament partly by worshipping the god
of materialism, consuming more resources than we deserve. In the Jewish tradition, Tikkun Olam
means repairing God’s world. Olam is the world God created and Tikkun means repairing or
correction. Jewish mystics also teach that everyone has a personal tikkun, something that needs
healing or correcting in their lives, or righting. The idea of Elders as Earth Advocates is the idea
of Tikkun Olam. When we think of Elders as Earth Advocates, we think of elders as doing
something to repair the world, which can be done by working in the society or on our own lives. I
believe this is especially helpful when this work is done in an intergenerational context.
We in California are experiencing wildfires set by lightning now, and it is very smokey and scary.
We need wise and calm elders in our midst who can keep younger folks from panicking. Elders
are the ones who have been through wars and depressions. They know how to be steady, how
to hope for better times, how to simplify, and how to make do with little. They can help save the
planet for younger generations (William Thomas, What are Old People For? How Elders Will
Save the World, 2007).
Seniors know better than anyone else that “The most important things in life aren’t things”; that
it is crucial to “Live simply that others might simply live” (Elizabeth Seton); and that “Tis a gift to
be simple, tis a gift to be free, tis a gift to come down where you ought to be” (Quaker song).
How can elders help rebalance the earth? We can slow down and teach others to do so. We can
create gardens and work in them with young people. We can go birdwatching together, using a
field guide. We can study books such as E.O. Wilson’s The Creation: An Appeal To Save Life
on Earth (2006) to learn what insects, birds and animals have become extinct and why
biodiversity is important. We can be problem-solvers and challengers, helping young people
discern causes which are larger than themselves.
We can take children to visit zoos, compost with them, buy food at farmers’ markets, decrease
water and styrofoam use, use biodegradable products from Worldcentric, and recycle with them.
We can switch all light bulbs to CFL’s. We can eat low on the food chain with grains and
vegetables rather than meat. We can look through microscopes with them, walk on the seashore
with digital cameras for “collecting,” visit a botanical garden, an aquarium, an orchid exhibit. We
can go shopping together for thermal windows and curtains; explore together the use of
alternative energy resources such as solar and wind; buy locally grown gifts, e.g., lavender oils
and gifts produced in the home (http:home.infostations.com/greenblessings/);
and formulate creation-care goals for the church, family and community (see Response
magazine, 2007).
Seniors can be role models, telling stories about surviving the depression and adopting those
lifestyles, such as using clotheslines instead of dryers, making do, patching rather than buying
new. We can discern our true passions and help others do the same—many times these have
more to do with creativity than with consumption. During holiday times, we can rethink the
holiday buying frenzy and create or donate to good causes rather than buy our gifts.
What specific examples involving multiple generations can I offer? (All cities are in CA.) Susan
Diamond, San Mateo, CA, teaches children gardening and flower arranging. Reach and Teach
of Palo Alto connects people in creative ways to issues of social justice and development of a
more just and peaceful world; creates and distributes products, including games, focused on
civil rights, economic justice, global issues (www.reachandteach.com).
Before she died, the ardent green hills worker, Lois Crozier Hogle, always brought washed out
recycled Oriental food boxes when we went for Chinese food. Everywhere, adults of all ages and
all appearances, are teaching children about the sources of their foods by going to farmers’
markets and by gardening. My hairdresser, who sports purple hair, piercings and tattooes, has
taught her son all about gardening. She told me that he excitedly exclaims, “Mom, look at my
‘matoes!”
Marilyn Wilson of Grass Valley UMC arranges carpools to all church and social events for
seniors and facilitates the visiting of frail elders by more active elders. Lisa Conway of Los Altos
UMC teaches Vacation Bible School students to build table top gardens for elders. Young adults
at Pine UMC, San Francisco, serve seniors and hear their stories at “Learn at Lunch.” At Clovis
Memorial UMC, the Boy Scouts serve dinner to seniors attending a class on “Coming Fully Alive
as You Age.”
Elders are generally more patient and can teach younger people to be the same. “I am not
trying to save the world anymore,” says social activist and fabric artist, Louise Todd Cope. “I am
practicing
mindfulness, gratitude, loving kindness meditation.” Interestingly enough, these practices
improve brain health in seniors (Sharon Begley, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, 2007).
Elders understand that voluntary simplicity is not a horrible thing. As Jose Hobday (2002)
describes, simplicity in food, clothing, shelter, work, transportation, and recreation brings
freedom. Duane Elgin discusses many kinds of simplicity: Choiceful simplicity; commercial
simplicity; compassionate simplicity; ecological simplicity; elegant simplicity; frugal simplicity;
natural simplicity; political simplicity; soulful simplicity; uncluttered simplicity. Discussing these
concepts with younger people provides camaraderie and discernment.
Environmental justice is based on a philosophy of interdependence and coexistence. We are all
connected to each other and with nature. Harmony in nature comes about when people are in
harmony. Dr. Martin Luther King: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Chief
Seattle: “We did not weave the strand of life; we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the
web, we do to ourselves.”
Websites
www.earth-justice.org
www.micahscall.org
www.flexyourpower.org
www.carbonfootprint.com
www.umc-gbcs.org
www.nccecojustice.org
www.ens-newswire.com
www.equalexchange.com
www.simplegiving.org
www.tikkun.org
www.worldcentric.org
conclusions of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), attest to the fact of
global warming. We have gotten ourselves into this predicament partly by worshipping the god
of materialism, consuming more resources than we deserve. In the Jewish tradition, Tikkun Olam
means repairing God’s world. Olam is the world God created and Tikkun means repairing or
correction. Jewish mystics also teach that everyone has a personal tikkun, something that needs
healing or correcting in their lives, or righting. The idea of Elders as Earth Advocates is the idea
of Tikkun Olam. When we think of Elders as Earth Advocates, we think of elders as doing
something to repair the world, which can be done by working in the society or on our own lives. I
believe this is especially helpful when this work is done in an intergenerational context.
We in California are experiencing wildfires set by lightning now, and it is very smokey and scary.
We need wise and calm elders in our midst who can keep younger folks from panicking. Elders
are the ones who have been through wars and depressions. They know how to be steady, how
to hope for better times, how to simplify, and how to make do with little. They can help save the
planet for younger generations (William Thomas, What are Old People For? How Elders Will
Save the World, 2007).
Seniors know better than anyone else that “The most important things in life aren’t things”; that
it is crucial to “Live simply that others might simply live” (Elizabeth Seton); and that “Tis a gift to
be simple, tis a gift to be free, tis a gift to come down where you ought to be” (Quaker song).
How can elders help rebalance the earth? We can slow down and teach others to do so. We can
create gardens and work in them with young people. We can go birdwatching together, using a
field guide. We can study books such as E.O. Wilson’s The Creation: An Appeal To Save Life
on Earth (2006) to learn what insects, birds and animals have become extinct and why
biodiversity is important. We can be problem-solvers and challengers, helping young people
discern causes which are larger than themselves.
We can take children to visit zoos, compost with them, buy food at farmers’ markets, decrease
water and styrofoam use, use biodegradable products from Worldcentric, and recycle with them.
We can switch all light bulbs to CFL’s. We can eat low on the food chain with grains and
vegetables rather than meat. We can look through microscopes with them, walk on the seashore
with digital cameras for “collecting,” visit a botanical garden, an aquarium, an orchid exhibit. We
can go shopping together for thermal windows and curtains; explore together the use of
alternative energy resources such as solar and wind; buy locally grown gifts, e.g., lavender oils
and gifts produced in the home (http:home.infostations.com/greenblessings/);
and formulate creation-care goals for the church, family and community (see Response
magazine, 2007).
Seniors can be role models, telling stories about surviving the depression and adopting those
lifestyles, such as using clotheslines instead of dryers, making do, patching rather than buying
new. We can discern our true passions and help others do the same—many times these have
more to do with creativity than with consumption. During holiday times, we can rethink the
holiday buying frenzy and create or donate to good causes rather than buy our gifts.
What specific examples involving multiple generations can I offer? (All cities are in CA.) Susan
Diamond, San Mateo, CA, teaches children gardening and flower arranging. Reach and Teach
of Palo Alto connects people in creative ways to issues of social justice and development of a
more just and peaceful world; creates and distributes products, including games, focused on
civil rights, economic justice, global issues (www.reachandteach.com).
Before she died, the ardent green hills worker, Lois Crozier Hogle, always brought washed out
recycled Oriental food boxes when we went for Chinese food. Everywhere, adults of all ages and
all appearances, are teaching children about the sources of their foods by going to farmers’
markets and by gardening. My hairdresser, who sports purple hair, piercings and tattooes, has
taught her son all about gardening. She told me that he excitedly exclaims, “Mom, look at my
‘matoes!”
Marilyn Wilson of Grass Valley UMC arranges carpools to all church and social events for
seniors and facilitates the visiting of frail elders by more active elders. Lisa Conway of Los Altos
UMC teaches Vacation Bible School students to build table top gardens for elders. Young adults
at Pine UMC, San Francisco, serve seniors and hear their stories at “Learn at Lunch.” At Clovis
Memorial UMC, the Boy Scouts serve dinner to seniors attending a class on “Coming Fully Alive
as You Age.”
Elders are generally more patient and can teach younger people to be the same. “I am not
trying to save the world anymore,” says social activist and fabric artist, Louise Todd Cope. “I am
practicing
mindfulness, gratitude, loving kindness meditation.” Interestingly enough, these practices
improve brain health in seniors (Sharon Begley, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, 2007).
Elders understand that voluntary simplicity is not a horrible thing. As Jose Hobday (2002)
describes, simplicity in food, clothing, shelter, work, transportation, and recreation brings
freedom. Duane Elgin discusses many kinds of simplicity: Choiceful simplicity; commercial
simplicity; compassionate simplicity; ecological simplicity; elegant simplicity; frugal simplicity;
natural simplicity; political simplicity; soulful simplicity; uncluttered simplicity. Discussing these
concepts with younger people provides camaraderie and discernment.
Environmental justice is based on a philosophy of interdependence and coexistence. We are all
connected to each other and with nature. Harmony in nature comes about when people are in
harmony. Dr. Martin Luther King: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Chief
Seattle: “We did not weave the strand of life; we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the
web, we do to ourselves.”
Websites
www.earth-justice.org
www.micahscall.org
www.flexyourpower.org
www.carbonfootprint.com
www.umc-gbcs.org
www.nccecojustice.org
www.ens-newswire.com
www.equalexchange.com
www.simplegiving.org
www.tikkun.org
www.worldcentric.org
