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Conservatism, Reaction, and the Elder's Responsibility: A Message to My Age Grade

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Conservatism, Reaction, and the Elder's Responsibility: A Message to My Age Grade Great Day, Fam. This one right here? It’s not for everyone. If you’re not at or approaching Eldership—defined in our tribe as about 55 years old and up—you might not feel all of this. But if you’re curious, or if you’re one of those younger souls already walking with wisdom, you’re welcome to keep reading. This message is for the Elders. For those of us who should know better. And yes—I’m including myself. Let’s Start With the Mirror I’ve got to confess something. I’ve been guilty. Guilty of being reactionary. Guilty of falling into the trap of conservatism. Guilty of romanticizing the past. Guilty of looking at our young people and calling them “soft”—as if we were born warriors, as if we didn’t have to become who we are through fire, failure, and guidance. Many of us Elders are stuck in a loop. We remember only the highlights of our youth—the toughest times we survived, the boldest moments ...
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Initiation by Imagination- Lost story of Gye

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“Elder we hear many stories in Gye-Nyame, but very few about Gye himself.” I stated as we sat in the shop drinking coffee and smoking hookah. This elder was hard to catch up with, and even if you caught up with him you were not guaranteed to be blessed with a conversation. So I planed to take advantage of every minute that he blessed me with. “You are right young man there are not many stories about Gye that we share, but they do exist, and at the right time they appear to those who earnestly seek them.” the elder said as he sat back holding the hookah stem enjoying the flavor he had chosen. “Elder will you share one with me?” I asked hoping for a yes... “Young man it will be my pleasure, I have heard a lot about you and the work you have been doing in the tribe, so I feel it is time for you to get more info about our mythic founder.” He then passed me the hookah, and took a sip of his coffee. Looking at me very seriously, “make sure you take care of this story and do not pass it to ...
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"It Is Time For You To Leave"

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Before you read please check out the video so that you will not get lost, some of my readers are to young to remember the show Kung Fu, and will not understand my references.  What I loved about Kung fu was that it introduced me to different way of thinking. The scene that I am discussing today is the test that was set up in this fictional shaolin temple that determined when it was time for a student to leave. The test was basically the head monk (Master Khan) standing before the student every so often, and challenging the student to snatch the pebble from his hand. When the student missed he went back to his daily practice in the temple as a student. When he was finally able to snatch the pebble he and the master knew that it was time for him to leave. In other words it was made clear to the student and the teacher that student had no more to learn in the temple and it was time for him to continue his studies in the world. If only real life was this simple, and clear cut. ...
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