Elderhood Institute: Definition of an Elder

The elder, unlike the elderly, knows he or she owes advocacy and wisdom to others. The elderly complain about aging while elders continue to deepen their experience of living until they die. The elderly remain angry about experiences that hurt them throughout their life. They have not yet forgiven. The elderly don't celebrate long life in the way the elder does. The person expressing eldership begins each day with a sacred intention to show thanks for each new day and seeks to affirm life in others even in small ways. Because of this devotion to the celebration of life, elders elicit extraordinary deference from their community.

The archetypal elder has been the same force in most cultures over most all of time. An "archetype' is a model for a role that has survived time. Within each person is an energy and a spirit that once accessed allows a person to express eldership in the way elders have from the beginning. Just as "instincts" seem to account for recurrent behavior patterns in man, so the archetypes seem to account for recurrent psychic patterns. Psychic patterns are expressions of one's psyche: all of an individual, which is not physical. When we seek to nourish the soul through an expression of elder energy an elder role emerges. Elders' roles include:

Celebrants:
Are persons who are a source of blessing, a natural resource that can empower others
They initiate others and affirm them through unconditional positive regard

Wisdom Keepers:
Are persons who put elderhood into action by sharing their impressions and beliefs and tell their story
Their work is to synthesize wisdom from long life experience
They share their long life experience by being accessible

Earth Keepers:
Are persons who are partners with Earth and who sense they are one with nature
They are stewards, partners of both man and Earth

Mentors:
Are persons who are stirred by cooperation and consensus and who enjoy the synergy of facilitator and facilitated in co-creation
They believe the role of older people is to facilitate creativity in the young
They believe that the patterns of the past don't need to prevail and so they listen to youth

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