History of Gold

Those of Golden Age, have to be patient in many ways.  It's a time, that you are told,  you can impart the wisdom you have gained over a lifetime, to the younger. It's a tempting thought. But the young want and need, to live their lives in their way, and if mistakes are made, they become the valuable lessons in their lives, not the ones we had. So what does an elder pass on? The work of elders is to impart their histories so that in doing so, the younger may find something of personal value to hold and keep, and perhaps use, in some way on their life journeys. But, like learning the hard way, that flame burns, the best lessons are not tales from the past, but experiences formed in  the present. Personal histories of the aged, add colour and depth to young lives. The true value of learning from elders is to see oneself as the forefront of something very old and precious, very personal and creative. Even unsavory pasts work to do their job in converting bad experiences to corrections of that pattern. Each history provides building material for the young in determining their own destinies. It's a choice as to which bricks of knowledge will be used to construct that plan.  Elderly folk who become upset that their progeny don't take their specific advice shouldn't be concerned. They ought to assume that, like it or not, they did their part simply in telling the family history as they know it. That's lesson enough. It's more important that you offer it, than it be adopted. How do you present this elder gift of your past, the one only you can give? The young being so occupied in these times with work and family, histories told by elders have to be found in small opportunities for brief tales, told in old photos or recounted at family gatherings. Patience is required. Writing histories and keeping them aside is not only satisfying for elders who recount them, but also, marvelous memories for the young to discover later. When my mother died, and I had to dispose of  her effects, I found priceless bits of paper with small notes revealing things I had never known or been told. These hastily penned tiny journals on scraps of paper, don't need to be enhanced or edited.  They stand as recorded, just as the elder did them, complete with every curl of the pen, inflection of the word or glow of a yellowed photograph. Whether these histories in bits or whole, are tossed randomly into a worn suitcase, a shoe box or diligently glued into an elaborately styled album, they are equally perfect in their ways. Often times, it's not how artistic the forms are, but it's the immediateness of the words that charms the most. I have found old recipe books with spelling errors, food spots and margin notes to be far more interesting than some of the fancy scrapbooks with florals and doo dads attached. Just scribble your stories, collect the old pictures and tell your tales. They all make what we were, to what we are.