“Heart & character is what we hunger for…..people of sound mind, of perspective, of wisdom, of integrity….people who have suffered & come through those times of deep raggedness and despair…who have fallen & then picked themselves up and through humility have adapted themselves as they have gone through life.
People who know the struggle, who know what it means to not be driven by their ego anymore…their hearts are looking outwards to how they can serve & what they can give”
Interviewee from Elders Project
What is an elder?
Eldership is not a role or a title - like CEO, or Doctor - and it is not necessarily synonymous with age, but by virtue of gathering more experience of life, it most commonly emerges as we age.
An elder is not one thing.
It is a montage or a spectrum of qualities that can reside in full or in part in someone.
In its simplest definition an elder is someone who has turned their life time of experience into deep wisdom which they invest into the lives of youth, leaders, organisations and societies, to help them to thrive and leave a legacy that will outlive them.
In its richest definition there are 21 qualities of an elder.
Why do we need to recover elders?