The younger generations look us up with high esteem because of our achievements in life. The problem is that most of us do not always open a healthy communication with them. We keep on imposing the younger people to do this and that. My friendly advice is…, do not impose upon them the way you want them to do. Give them the proper advice they want to hear from you, and guide them towards the right direction in a friendly way. Let us not keep looking at our achievements hanging on the walls because this will just prevent us from seeing other people except ourselves. Let the younger generations look at our achievements the way we deal with them because they look us up to emulate the good deeds we do to them.
Times are fast changing year after year. Human cultures once diversified are now deviated and seemingly realigned with the introduction of the cyber age using the internets in the computers. The world is fast moving now towards one community with the emergence of globalization and modernization. Traditions are now made ‘trapos’ or basahan. Cultural heritage is now becoming endangered towards extinction because of the rapid growth of development and modernization threatening our old ways. So many new terms emerge and are now becoming the language of the younger generations. What do we do now as elders? It’s about time now for us to learn the lessons of the younger generations to effectively guide them towards the right direction God has planned for us.
In my case, I learned a lot from my youngest son who is now in his second year high school. When my son was still in his early learning stage, I used to read him bible stories until he closes his eyes to sleep. Before sleeping, he always picks up one of the books for me to read, and wanted me home as early as I could. One day, I came home late that evening tired. I then lied down beside my wife in bed after kissing my son seemingly asleep holding a book that moment. While having whispers with my wife I suddenly heard him calling my name.
“Daddy halika tabihan mo muna ako, hindi pa ako tulog. Kwentuhan mo muna ako tungkol kay Joseph the Canaanite o di ba yong tungkol kay King David.”, he quipped.
“Anak pasensya ka na ha, pagod kasi ang Daddy mo sa trabaho. Dito muna ako tabi sa Mommy mo.”, I regretfully answered.
“Halika na Daddy, ako na lang ang tabihan mo sa pagtulog. Huwag na yan si Mommy kasi matanda na yan e.”, he persisted. Then I gave up to his demand no matter how tired I was that evening.
The words I heard coming from my youngest son echo in me until this moment. They reflect their needs for us elders to communicate with them as often as we can. Now in his teens, he teaches me the lessons in computers he learned in school including the different terminologies they used in their computer classes. During my school years I never had the lessons in computers not until my son urged me to buy one for him. So much have changed our ways nowadays! Then I came to realize the truth of the saying that, ‘there is nothing permanent in this world except change.’ So we elders have to brisk up ourselves, go with these changes, learn the lessons of the younger generations, and find our ways to guide them towards the right direction. We should now stop thinking that retirement is a stage of our final curtain, or the end of everything.
Retirement is a misnomer as some elders say. In God’s plan there is no retirement in the life He gave us, it is only us humans who choose to retire. Why? Is it because we set our minds to some usual practices that once we stop working from the long years of service, as an engineer, a doctor, a church worker, etc., we are physically if not legally mandated to retire? In some respect, we have to give up one thing we once endeared to give way for the younger generations following us. But remember that’s only one thing out of the so many things that we wanted to endear. Now is a time for us to awaken our past interests in life and find new avenues in carrying further the mission God has bestowed upon us. Name them and we can have new things to begin with using our talents and the long years of experience we have in life.
In my case, I learned a lot from my youngest son who is now in his second year high school. When my son was still in his early learning stage, I used to read him bible stories until he closes his eyes to sleep. Before sleeping, he always picks up one of the books for me to read, and wanted me home as early as I could. One day, I came home late that evening tired. I then lied down beside my wife in bed after kissing my son seemingly asleep holding a book that moment. While having whispers with my wife I suddenly heard him calling my name.
“Daddy halika tabihan mo muna ako, hindi pa ako tulog. Kwentuhan mo muna ako tungkol kay Joseph the Canaanite o di ba yong tungkol kay King David.”, he quipped.
“Anak pasensya ka na ha, pagod kasi ang Daddy mo sa trabaho. Dito muna ako tabi sa Mommy mo.”, I regretfully answered.
“Halika na Daddy, ako na lang ang tabihan mo sa pagtulog. Huwag na yan si Mommy kasi matanda na yan e.”, he persisted. Then I gave up to his demand no matter how tired I was that evening.
The words I heard coming from my youngest son echo in me until this moment. They reflect their needs for us elders to communicate with them as often as we can. Now in his teens, he teaches me the lessons in computers he learned in school including the different terminologies they used in their computer classes. During my school years I never had the lessons in computers not until my son urged me to buy one for him. So much have changed our ways nowadays! Then I came to realize the truth of the saying that, ‘there is nothing permanent in this world except change.’ So we elders have to brisk up ourselves, go with these changes, learn the lessons of the younger generations, and find our ways to guide them towards the right direction. We should now stop thinking that retirement is a stage of our final curtain, or the end of everything.
Retirement is a misnomer as some elders say. In God’s plan there is no retirement in the life He gave us, it is only us humans who choose to retire. Why? Is it because we set our minds to some usual practices that once we stop working from the long years of service, as an engineer, a doctor, a church worker, etc., we are physically if not legally mandated to retire? In some respect, we have to give up one thing we once endeared to give way for the younger generations following us. But remember that’s only one thing out of the so many things that we wanted to endear. Now is a time for us to awaken our past interests in life and find new avenues in carrying further the mission God has bestowed upon us. Name them and we can have new things to begin with using our talents and the long years of experience we have in life.
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