Have you ever wondered why we are seeing this “back to basics” movement in areas like education, healthcare, and nutrition? Do we really want to go back to basics? In order to go back to basics, we have to accept that the whole system is integrated.
We can no longer work on isolated parts of the system while the rest of the system is holding us back. If one part of the system is not working well, then the rest of the system is bound to overwork, underwork, or otherwise malfunction. In order to see this, we have to take a step back and look at the whole interconnected system.
We will have to take the time to listen to our elders and respect the wisdom of their experiences. This point hit me hard this week. As an educator, I am surrounded by people who have been in this field for decades. I enjoy listening to their experiences. These veteran educators have the ability to look back and see the trends and patterns that I may not see. They also have a wealth of trial-and-error experience.
Maybe it hit me so hard because one of my favorite veteran educators just retired. Or maybe it was because one of my other favorite (not-so-veteran) educators heard that people aren’t really useful after 30 years. Or maybe it’s because this is my 15th year, and I am getting closer to being one of the dispensable elders in the field of education.
But…let’s get off of the subject of education and talk about something less controversial, like healthcare.
Real Food, Real Health
It’s interesting to see how our healthcare system started with a focus on nutrition…
“let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates
Our ancestors started out as hunter-gatherer societies, and then we operated small farms. Once manufacturing took over, we decided to outsource our nutrition. After years of processed food-like items and fast food, we are slowly returning to real food.
Our grandparents and great-grandparents knew what real food was. They also knew how to use food to treat many common conditions. For instance, there’s a reason that old fashioned chicken soup was used to treat a cold. Today, we know that the collagen, glutamine, and glycine that are released from boiling bones can help boost our immune system.
This is just one example of the wisdom of our elders. I’m sure you can think of many, many more examples. Even if they didn’t know the exact science behind why it worked, they knew what to do and eat to treat common problems.
Mind, Body, Spirit Connection
Of course, my favorite field of study is psychology. Did you know that psychology started out as a combination of philosophy and physiology? Finally, after years of studying the life of the mind, as a separate entity from the body, many psychologists are now going back to their roots. Recently, there have been more studies on embodied cognition. There is even an interesting new field of study called neurotheology.
For those who don’t care much about psychology, the point here is that many research psychologists are realizing that the mind, body, and spirit function as an interconnected unit. The best part is that there is published research on these previously esoteric topics.
The mind influences the body. Think about the placebo effect. Just the thought that something is going to make you feel better, can really make you feel better. Do you remember the last time your child scraped their knee? Did you kiss it and make it better? Well, that’s one example of the mind influencing the body.
The body influences the mind too. Think about how you feel when you smile or how you feel when you intentionally pull your shoulders up to your ears. What does your body posture say about you? How does changing one small thing, like smiling more, make you feel different?
And, now here’s the kicker, all three of these work together. The nutrition we take in influences both the body and the mind. Many of the neurotransmitters that impact our brain are actually produced in our gut. Imagine that, the “gut feeling” could be based on a real chemical change that started in your gut.
Valuing Other’s Experiences
Hopefully, this cyclical process of knowledge creation and integration will lead to some sort of balance between the wisdom of the elders and the vision of the youth.
I truly believe that our elders, in any field, should be honored for their wisdom and experiences. Maybe there are things that the younger generation can do faster or easier, but without the benefit of experience, we are truly bound to make the same mistakes over and over again.
Here is my challenge to you. First, spend some time talking to someone who you consider an elder in your field. Maybe your field is being a stay-at-home mom. That’s great. Talk to a grandmother or grandfather about how they handled common life situations. Think about how their strategies could be tweaked to work in today’s society.
Second, honor the wisdom of others and the knowledge they can provide. Regardless of how long someone has been in a particular job, none of us is useless or dispensable. There is value in each and every individual. It’s up to us to be open to seeing that value. In my opinion, that’s as basic as it gets.
