RESPECT THE ELDERS!!!

The first two paragraph of this post was taken from an article written for seniorservices.co.za. The rest is a re-post of mine. I find it so very sad to see the elderly mistreated. I love old people and yes I understand not all Pops Or Moms are the sweet little things that we think they are supposed to be. There are many personalities placed here on earth to live together we all could not be the same. However we must not remove from our minds that the elderly needs our strength in order to continue living out their lives. We should respect them, be patient with them, assist them in what ever way we can. We must love and cherish them. They cared for us when we needed the care let us always remember that it is our duty to do the same for them. I honor all the elders in my life..nuff love and respect!! 

In the Asian society, the elderly are respected and looked up to. Unfortunately, in our society this is not always true. Older people in our society are sometimes viewed as a nuisance and not valued for the wonderful people they are. The medical community can be very harsh on the elderly by using the justification that they have already lived their lives. They tend to ignore conditions that would never be ignored on a younger person. My mother would not have lived to eighty-nine without my intervention. There seems to be a misnomer in society that older people are useless and have nothing to contribute

Seniors are sometimes told that they are useless or just simply ignored. They are people with feelings that are a bit older and would like to enjoy the same respect and joy that a younger person enjoys. You see the elderly working at the Wal-Mart doors. They also work with the county to use their skills and knowledge to help the people who are starting out in business. They are the volunteers at hospitals (pink ladies). They man many of the soup kitchens and are an asset to our community. They are the Grand Mothers and Grand Fathers of our children. These people are our Mothers and Fathers, and they deserve our love and respect. They are the people who know how to get things done. We owe a lot of our successes in life to our seniors.

They are the ones that have gone before us to show us the way, (From senior service.co)

It is Important for us to realize the Importance of an Elder, they are deserving of respect  and honor. Respect is due to all and that is what we were taught as children growing up, where ever you grew up.  If you were not taught this at home by your parents, then the school would have filled you in. Age is honor and for a person to be blessed with long life, it is something wonderful. In Africa when an elder is praying for you the first words that are uttered are  “May you have Long Life”  and then Health, and prosperity will follow.  I have seen this new generation of people across the world, disrespect their elders often, although I must say I have never seen it in Africa, It is Our Elders that we learn from, the ones who pass down oral tradition, they must be revered! Growing up in Jamaica, when our neighbor Miss Will would make trouble, when she and my mother would argue, being very protective of my mother, I would try to join with my mom to curse Miss Will.  As soon as my mother heard me she would slap me and tell me to shut up, this was between big people.  Afterwards she would lecture me, telling me that Miss Will was a grown woman and I should never disrespect her, If I see her carrying bags I should offer to help her or if she falls and I am around I should not walk away, rather I should help her, the only caution she gave me was if she offered me food, drinks, or candy I should refuse, but do so politely. In the traditional practice of  IFA/ORISHA, it is not only important that we honor our elders by theirs physical age, but also by theirs spiritual age too, the wealth of spiritual knowledge that they possess and how long have they been initiates.  When I travel to Ogun State, Nigeria and I go on my God Fathers compound, Olowu Okegbemi, I immediately drop to my knees, and grasp his right leg, and  greet him while he prays for me. Parents we must instill this in our children, they do not say, Miss this or Mr. that any more. No Good morning, evening or night when ever they call or come around!! why? Where are the Please and the thank you. Gone are the days when youngsters did not curse in front of the elders. Shame!! What has the world come to, then is it any wonder that nature is turning against human being.  There is a quote by Jame Baldwin that says;  

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they never fail to imitate them”