One week ago, we took a road trip to Madison, WI. "We" is myself, Don Hernan (my father-in-law) and Ivan, my...dude. We are 23, 31, and 76 years old.
Things changed. Over the course of the 40 hours of driving, and the gas stations, and the bathroom breaks, and the honesty, and the laughter, and the music, and the yelling, things changed. I began to know intergenerational power.
Things changed. Over the course of the 40 hours of driving, and the gas stations, and the bathroom breaks, and the honesty, and the laughter, and the music, and the yelling, things changed. I began to know intergenerational power.
"Los Tres Reyes Magos," Don Hernan named us. The three kings, sent bearing gifts to honor a birth. We laughed, not knowing what birth we would witness, but the name fit. Three men, at different stages of life, from different countries (Cape Verde, Peru, and the United States), from different class backgrounds, coming together to find...something.
We found intergenerational power. I learned that the presence of an elder can change the group dynamic in beautiful ways. Don Hernan refuses to consider himself inferior or superior. He knows who he is and so he needs neither to talk himself up nor put himself down.
Maybe that's a key to elder power--the paradox of simultaneous peer-peer and student-teacher dynamics. Don Hernan is my friend and brother--we are both men, we want to have a good time, we make mistakes, we have insecurities, we feel strong emotions.
Yet he is also a father, an uncle, a grandfather. He's seen, done, and been a part of such a wide range of experiences that are unknown to me. When there is a tough question about defending a friend, being faithful to a significant other, knowing what it means to be free and yet respectful, Ivan and I put it to Don Hernan. He invariably gives an indirect, long-winded answer that points in the right direction.
And Ivan and I play an important role for him as well, especially with technological aspects of the trip. At 76, maybe an automatic sugar dispenser in a gas station is too much. Or using a cell phone. Or driving a car. So our skills and experiences interlock, to allow us to deal with any situation that arises.
We found intergenerational power. I learned that the presence of an elder can change the group dynamic in beautiful ways. Don Hernan refuses to consider himself inferior or superior. He knows who he is and so he needs neither to talk himself up nor put himself down.
Maybe that's a key to elder power--the paradox of simultaneous peer-peer and student-teacher dynamics. Don Hernan is my friend and brother--we are both men, we want to have a good time, we make mistakes, we have insecurities, we feel strong emotions.
Yet he is also a father, an uncle, a grandfather. He's seen, done, and been a part of such a wide range of experiences that are unknown to me. When there is a tough question about defending a friend, being faithful to a significant other, knowing what it means to be free and yet respectful, Ivan and I put it to Don Hernan. He invariably gives an indirect, long-winded answer that points in the right direction.
And Ivan and I play an important role for him as well, especially with technological aspects of the trip. At 76, maybe an automatic sugar dispenser in a gas station is too much. Or using a cell phone. Or driving a car. So our skills and experiences interlock, to allow us to deal with any situation that arises.
When, in a relationship between an elder and a younger person, this paradox can be upheld, the elder power is unleashed, and that created the intergenerational power that became magic for everyone present on this road trip.
With intergenerational power, we are completed, our flaws and faults mitigated by the wisdom, experience, and naivete of those around us. But it's not just multiple generations--there needs to be a sense of both confidence and openness in all of the people, or it just becomes domination. When there is openness, confidence, and trust, it's an intergenerational Voltron.
What if I could approach all interactions with elders with the genuine belief that I could connect with them both as a peer AND as a younger student of their experience and wisdom?
With intergenerational power, we are completed, our flaws and faults mitigated by the wisdom, experience, and naivete of those around us. But it's not just multiple generations--there needs to be a sense of both confidence and openness in all of the people, or it just becomes domination. When there is openness, confidence, and trust, it's an intergenerational Voltron.
What if I could approach all interactions with elders with the genuine belief that I could connect with them both as a peer AND as a younger student of their experience and wisdom?