VIRTUES OF THE ELDERLY

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Hello Friends:



I'll like to share with you today something I've noticed among some of our elders. It is a virtue. A lot of people these days see only what's wrong with our elders (and some of these insights are actually credible) but today I want to point out few virtues our elders display that we must thrive to imbibe early if we want to live long and enjoy our life.

  1. Discipline
  2. Respect
  3. Honour 
  4. Faith 
  5. Wisdom 
  6. Generosity 
  7. Laughter 
  8. Hard work
  9. Forbearance
  10. Humility

I'm not going to dissect these virtues neither will I claim that all elderly folks I've met have all of these. These are the upper percentile virtues I've picked up from a wide range of elderly folks I've had the pleasure of meeting.

Sometime in May, an elderly man walked into my neighbour's business place and greeted him. That was what caught my attention the first time I saw him. The grey haired, frail looking man does not allow you greet him first, he's always throwing greetings and blessings around as if they are 1 kobo for a dozen. He proceeded to make his purchase, communicating in proper grammar. Then he struck up a conversation with my neighbour the summary of which (as far as I know) was to impart on my neighbour the necessity of saving. This old man transferred wisdom for zero gain.
Long after he had gone, I quietly contemplated this exchange. My thoughts were that we (the younger generation) are probably loosing a lot by ignoring the wisdom of the elders. This event motivated me to begin to watch more closely and interact more consciously with elder patrons and clients. That is what gave birth to the listed virtues above.
  • They are often frail but they possess amazing strength in character and beliefs.
  • They are generous to a fault. Giving their strength (even when sick), money (even when broke), time (even when close to death), wisdom and love.
  • They are always calm in times of calamity and trouble. They know how to see through their tears. They've learnt how to tamp down on panic and give prophetic directions. 
  • They take advantage of any and every opportunity to laugh and express their joy (even when in pain from illness). That is still astounding to me. I know an old lady who was suffering from arthritis (she was in a lot of pain), yet she shared in the laughter at her grand-kids antics. 
  • They know how to calm the storm of dissent/quarrels. How they are able to stop an angry mob with well placed words is beyond me. I read a story of how elderly men stopped an angry mob from carrying out jungle justice on some suspected cultists. 
  • They hate being idle. I met a lawyer of over 93 years. He is one of the lawyers of a big oil and gas firm. He is still working from home. When I asked him why he insists on working when it is so much trouble to even sit up for long hours on his computer, he said, "and what will I be doing with my knowledge and time?". Elderly folks love to work, Hard work has stopped being something to strive for but a way of life. As long as they are alive they want to put their strength and mind to work.
THE WISDOM OF THE ELDERS SHOULD NEVER BE IGNORED, THAT IS IF YOU WANT TO LIVE AS LONG AS THEY HAVE.
THEY MAY BE POOR, THEY MAY BE SICK, BUT BE SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT ... SURVIVING A WAR TAKES SKILL AND A GREAT DEAL OF LUCK 
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AND THAT IS NOT COMMON.

- E. I. OPUTA

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