The Wisdom of Experience: Inspiration for Challenging Times

Throughout history in many cultures around the world, societies have turned to their elders for wisdom. In this current climate of crisis, many people are turning to Google and YouTube for information and of course there are trusted sites for facts about what’s going on but what about our parents and grandparents? They’re reliable sources of insight, who have learned many life lessons. Just think about what they’ve witnessed over the decades. Their wisdom is gold right now.

It’s wonderful to hear about grandmothers teaching their grandchildren how to make bread on a zoom call while we’re in isolation. More than baking bread, many of our parents and grandparents have refined the art of not complaining because they’ve learned that it doesn’t make thing better; instead they learned that courage is a superpower and they put it to good use, to help them steer ahead.

The resilience of the human spirit is impressive and we’re seeing a lot of it now. I recently read about a woman named Joy from Lunenburg Nova Scotia, who heard about Captain Tom Moore’s accomplishment, raising money for the British health care system, by walking laps around his garden, as he approached his 100th birthday. Joy thought if Captain Tom can raise money by walking why can’t she? It’s something she does faithfully every day anyway. As Joy approaches her 102 birthday, she’s committed to walking .8k every day to raise money for the Victorian Order of Nurses, where she worked for many years. Joy claims to be a very ordinary person, whose life seemed to fly under the radar until she got old. She lives on her own, has a very positive outlook on life and is using her daily walk to help others. How inspiring is that beautiful soul?

People of all generations are rising to this pandemic by sharing their gifts and themselves in the most remarkable way. Volunteer teams gather daily to feed our most vulnerable citizens, children participate in kindness challenges. I have a secret kindness club going with my ten year old great niece, where every day we each do something kind in secret and don’t tell anybody but each other. There are businesses pivoting so they can provide safety equipment, health care workers committing themselves to supporting people when they’re sick. Behind the scenes scientists are working hard to understand this complex Covid 19 virus, so we can work toward a clearer understanding of how it operates and move closer to having a vaccine. The courage, kindness and compassion we’re experiencing now is both impressive and inspiring. It seems everyone is asking themselves what they can do to help make things better for the greater good.

In this time of isolation, we’ve been taken right back to our basic values and what’s really important to us is surfacing. For many of us it’s family and community. We’re learning every day as we take inventory of our needs, what we really require to live our lives well. We’re all missing connection and even though we’re linked virtually, it’s clear that we need in person contact to thrive. We’re also feeling the importance of community, as neighbours rise to help one another get through this and we will get through it with help from all sides.

What about you?

Is there something you’re doing that you find helpful when it comes to staying connected to your family, friends and neighbours? Have you found that this crisis has made you feel more courageous and resilient? Will you carry some of the new positive habits you’ve been creating with you into the future?

Remember we’re all in this together and the more we focus on the good, the better it will be for all of us. Captain Tom Moore’s wise words are a comfort for our times “at the end of the day we shall all be okay. The sun will shine on you again and the clouds will go away.”