Patrick Mosher argues that elders hold invaluable wisdom we're failing to capture. Life expectancy jumped from 36 years in the 1920s to 72 by 2017, creating an unprecedented chance to record ancestral stories before they're lost. He shares his great-great-grandmother Ellen Hurley's 1848 journey from Ireland and urges using smartphones and video to preserve lessons for future generations.
Chapters
What is wisdom for humanity? I was asked to be on a panel for managing change in our society. And during the Q&A, someone asked a question about the graying of America. And the first two panelists gave their answers about how old folks were going to put a burden on our society. They talked about investing in pharmaceuticals, boomerang parents, the increase of old folks in, in old folks' homes, and the general migration of people to Florida. I gave an answer which I thought was brilliant, but honestly, today I can't remember what I said. The fourth person looked at the three of us fellow panelists, looked at the crowd, and what he said next transformed my life. We are entering an unprecedented time in human history where there's more wisdom on the planet than ever before. And we're wasting it. In that instant, old folks became elders. My relationship with my parents changed radically because they weren't just mom and dad anymore. They weren't just telling me annoying stories, and I no longer saw them as a future burden. They were elders, and now I was listening for wisdom. Sadly, Mom unexpectedly passed away a few years later, just 68 years old. I felt blessed I had those few years to collect some of her stories, her perspectives, and a bit of her wisdom. I had time to honor her for the elder she was. Her early passing reminds me that we don't know how many summers we have in this lifetime, precious time to spend with our loved ones. Time to make our significant impact. It's all about time. Global life expectancy in the 1920s, when my dad was born, was about 36 years old. And in 2017, it increased to 72. Spanning just 2 generations, global life expectancy doubled. Imagine that graph if you look all the way back to cavemen. Some paleo scientists believe life expectancy at that time was about 20 years old. That means the graph from cavemen at 10,000 BC to the 1920s is pretty flat, right? Well, global life expectancy is an exponential curve now, which is unprecedented in human history. So let's not waste all that precious time we've been granted. Let's value wisdom. To preserve our humanity, we have a duty to cultivate and share wisdom, especially the wisdom in our ancestral stories. My great-great-grandmother Ellen Hurley was born in June of 1848. At 11 years old, she stood on the dock in her hometown of Tralee, Ireland. Behind her was the potato blight, hunger, and depression. Ahead of her the unknown. What went through her head as she stood on that dock at 11 years old? Was she scared? Hopeful? Was she crying because she was never going to see her friends anymore? What were you doing at 11 years old? Well, there she was on that dock, watching the ship come in that was going to take her to a distant world. I had the privilege of standing on that very dock in Trelly, Even today, it gives me goosebumps feeling my connection to my great-great-grandma Ellen. She came over to an America which soon plunged into a civil war. She married just 4 years later at 15, and she had 5 kids. Thank you, Grandma Ellen. I don't know if she lived her dreams. Pretty sure she lived a hard life. I believe, though, if she walked through my front door today, she'd wonder how I had become the King of Ireland. I like to think I'm living her dream. So what is wisdom for humanity? Well, these days we have double the global life expectancy of just a generation or two behind us. We are here to create a better world for our children, their children, and their children. So let's gift our great-great-grandchildren a better world. That's what Ellen Hurley did for me and for you. I have 3 grandchildren. When I look into their eyes, I realize their grandchildren are as distant from me as Ellen Hurley is from me. 4 generations back, 4 generations forward. I can't talk to great-great-grandma Ellen Hurley. I can't ask her about her life or her stories. I can't gather her wisdom. And yet we live in an unprecedented time in human history. We can simply open our smartphone, shoot a video, and preserve our wisdom for future generations. What story are you leaving behind as a digital footprint? Do your part and catapult our humanity to a better place. My daughters know about their great-great-great-grandma Ellen Hurley, and someday we'll take them and our grandchildren to that dock in Tralee, Ireland. Maybe Grandma Ellen will smile on us that day. Proud we honored her journey. 4 generations back, 4 generations forward. That's how we will evolve, and that's wisdom for humanity.
