Elders Quotes

“In this huge old occidental culture our teaching elders are books. Books are our grandparents!”
― Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild

“Yes, apocalypse. We've had that over and over. But we always survived. We're still here. And we'll still be here, even if the power and the radios don't come back on and we never see any white people again.”
― Waubgeshig Rice, Moon of the Crusted Snow

“Without knowing it, the adults in our lives practiced a most productive kind of behavior modification. After our chores and household duties were done we were give "permission" to read. In other words, our elders positioned reading as a privilege - a much sought-after prize, granted only to those goodhardworkers who earned it. How clever of them.”
― Mildred Armstrong Kalish, Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression

“The Elders were closer to the Maker of All Things and should be deferred to whenever they made their will known.”
― Patricia Briggs, Hunting Ground

“تخيلات الشباب عن الشيخوخة ضلال، تخيلات الشيخوخة عن الشباب حسرات.”
― نجيب محفوظ, Sugar Street

“Respect the young and chastise your elders. It's about time the world was set aright.”
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

“Sina jinsi. Nguzo ya maisha yangu ni historia ya maisha yangu. Historia ya maisha yangu ni urithi wa watu waliojifunza kusema hapana kwa ndiyo nyingi – waliojitolea vitu vingi katika maisha yao kunifikisha hapa nilipo leo – walionifundisha falsafa ya kushindwa si hiari. Siri ya mafanikio yangu ni kujitahidi kwa kadiri ya uwezo wangu wote; au 'pushing the envelope' kwa lugha ya kigeni.”
― Enock Maregesi

“Conscience defined by the elders,
passed on to the next generations.”
― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

“Getting older is not an intellectually demanding process.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“The South, in general, and Stamps, Arkansas, in particular had had hundreds of years' experience in demoting even large adult blacks to psychological dwarfs. Poor white children had the license to address lauded and older blacks by their first names or by any names they could create.”
― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter

“. . . if we do not continue to choose kindness together, can you imagine how much worse the world will become? The least we can do in response to and in gratitude for all those kindness giants who have paved the way is to do the same for the generations to come.”
― Bruce Reyes-Chow, In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World

“I can listen to what my elders have to say and still do the opposite of what they think is right. It is my life to live. I am responsible for it.”
― The Thoughtful Beast

“At old age, one realizes that life is truly a dream.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, The Oneironaut’s Diary

“I longed with all my soul to be good, but I was young; I had passions and I as alone, completely alone, in my search for goodness. Every time I tried to display my innermost desires - a wish to be morally good - I met with contempt and scorn, and as soon as I gave in to the base desires I was praised and encouraged. Ambition, lust for power, self-interest, lechery, pride, anger, revenge, were all respected qualities. As I yielded to these passions I became like my elders and I felt that they were pleased with me.”
― Leo Tolstoy, A Confession and Other Religious Writings

“That hit me in a way that all the books and lessons at school never could. I made a silent vow to move a little slower and think before I acted. I would listen to my elders, and I’d protect them too.”
― Anton Treuer, Where Wolves Don't Die

“People, especially elders, repeat stories over and over again with purpose. In the arrogance of youth, we often think they do I because they are absent-minded. Now I know they repeat themselves because they’ve whittled like down into observations that should not be forgotten. They are authoring scriptures of their own.”
― Imani Perry, Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People – The National Book Award Winner's Cultural Meditation on Race, Blues, and Identity

“Blessings of those who have no desires bring luck and good fortune to those who have desires. That's why we seek blessings from elders and monks.”
― Shunya

“Disrespecting elders is the cancer of folks.”
― Kamaran Ihsan Salih

“The first lesson from our creator is to exercise respect, for all creation comes from the spirit.”
― Shirley Bear, Virgin Bones

“I imagined they had been listening for me, but still had not heard me drive up, which made me realize how old they really were: Grandfather, old beyond his time, and Father, old before his time.”
― Rick Bass, The Sky, The Stars, The Wilderness: Three Lyrical Short Stories of Texas, Appalachia, and the Untamed American West

“Respect and learn from your elders, have manners, listen and absorb from their decades of wisdom.”
― Henry Joseph-Grant

“We look to young musicians to be sages and treat our elders as old fools, then wonder why our life is a mess.”
― Aegelis, Sophizo

“Amaranthae turned her head to look at the old mage, white to the lips. “Do you elders know everything?”
“Enough to keep ourselves entertained,” the Srinshee said dryly, and Uldreiyn Starym nodded.
“ ‘Tis a common mistake of the young and vigorous,” he calmly told the tabletop, “to believe their elders have forgotten to see, or think, or remember things— when what we’ve really forgotten to do is scare younglings into respecting us, thoroughly and often.”
― Ed Greenwood, Elminster in Myth Drannor

“The successful people are those who respect their parents and elders.”
― Kamaran Ihsan Salih

“A house without elders is like a tree without leaves, hollow and incomplete.”
― Shree Shambav, Death: Light of Life and the Shadow of Death

“Oh for a son
when my head is bowed
and years have lined my face –
A stalwart son
with a gentle heart,
where I still hold
a mother's place.

Oh, for a son
when eyes grow dim
and memories recede –
A spirited son,
a steadfast son,
who sees but does not
fear my need.”
― Susan Noyes Anderson, His Children

“I mean what the fk I say and say what the fk I mean! They hate me because they ain’t me! I’m like a toddler and an elder put together! I SAY WHAT’S ON MY HEART AND MIND. IT’S LONELY BEING COMPLETELY HONEST ALL THE TIME! HOWEVER, THOSE GENERATIONAL CURSES WILL DEFINITELY END WITH ME AND MINE!”
― Constance Delores Burrell

“Defeated by age, wisdom, and subterfuge weaponized by two sneaky ladies with CIA-level skills. They should have been undercover operatives. Knowing these two, maybe they were. They sure proved they could keep a secret.”
― HelenKay Dimon, The Usual Family Mayhem

“Aging is often described in terms of decline... But there is another narrative: that aging brings with it a quiet wisdom, a deepening, a refinement. Those who have lived many years carry stories and perspectives younger generations cannot yet imagine. ... With age often comes a shift in priorities. The urgency to prove oneself may fade. The need to impress strangers diminishes”
― Ajmal, from the book "Borders of the Inner World"

“I wish for you, beloved friend, to practice moving through anger in ways that support all of us to create the world we want for our grandchildren.”
― Lorena Saavedra Smith, Awaken Your Roots: Reclaim Your Ancestry and Sovereignty by Heeding the Jaguar’s Call