Dear Friend,
Thinking back to your childhood, what do you remember about the older people in your life? For me, I adored my grandparents. They were funny, wise, humble, and had a remarkable worldview that looked so different from my mine. My appreciation for the aging runs deep, which is why I am very disappointed by the ageism that is being normalized in the media, politics, and workplaces. In our "throwaway culture," our attention consistently shifts towards the young and new, but at what cost?
Wisdom comes to us through all of the adversities, seasons of cultural and personal change, loss, joyful bliss, and growth that can only be obtained through living. In this living exists our collective memory — who we are and where we are going as humans. Yes, prior generations have made messes and can be stuck in their ways of seeing the world. Yes, the youngest generations are making messes with their limited lived experiences and their ways of seeing the world. In our imperfect navigation of life, we make messes together which we can clean up together, but this requires an openness and respect that is missing in many of today’s conversations.
How do we learn from each other and grow? Well, that is one of the goals of our Grateful Gatherings program, in which 400 new hosts from around the globe are currently participating in our four-week training. Through purposeful dialogue, we reach deeper understanding.
Today, registration opens for our new course, Grateful Hope: Passion for the Possible. What does a hopeful future, where all generations can face the challenges of tomorrow with a humble and realistic heart, look like? We’ve spent the past six months deep in the scholarship of Br. David Steindl-Rast and others to differentiate hope from hopes and discover how this orientation of the heart can lead to profound transformation.
The hope I possess for the generational divide of our time is this: less than a year ago, Br. David wrote his most recent and cumulative work at the age of 96 — a magnum opus he set out to give the next generation. Sometimes, the best way to share hope is to show others by doing.
May the wisdom life has given you be shared with others no matter your chronological age…
Gratefully yours,
Joe Primo
CEO, Grateful Living
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