THE ELDERS CLARION CALL
THE ELDERS CLARION CALL
The Elders' Role in Altering a Troubling Future
** DO NOT PASS GO – WATCH THIS VIDEO FIRST **
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1528235604524517
The future described in the video—is a world where those who control the machines concentrate wealth and power, causing greater poverty and despair. The video paints a grim picture of increasing inequality and suffering.
That future is here now—yes, right now—in your nation, in your neighborhood, in your house, on your screens, all around you.
The trajectory of this future is unsustainable and deeply destructive to humanity. If this future is fulfilled, the depth of suffering will continue to accelerate and expand.
An Elder's higher calling is to relieve suffering, which has been the Elder’s calling for millennia. This calling is rooted in their capacity for higher wisdom, compassion, and perspective. Having lived through life's joys and trials, Elders understand the human condition, which transcends superficial judgments.
Elders, who have traversed the seasons of life, know suffering intimately. They’ve each experienced personal loss, failure, physical decline, and the challenges of navigating an ever-changing world. Elders have lived through the trials that define human experience. That is what allows elders to be genuinely empathetic.
Empathy is a mental, sensory, and emotional connection, a shared experiential bridge, and a capacity to “recreate” another person's feelings and spirit. You not only understand intellectually but also experience what they are experiencing. The expression “I feel you” gets close. That’s empathy, and it fosters a deep sense of connection and understanding.
This empathic connection enables elders to see suffering not as a sign of failure or frailty but as a shared universal experience that calls them to draw their "healing" and "repair" swords from their scabbards.
Elders possess the serenity to sit with another’s suffering without being emotionally overwhelmed and the insight to offer wisdom rooted in their experience. An elder’s presence brings calm; their words recontextualize the suffering so it loosens its tight grip.
Ultimately, the calling to relieve suffering expresses elderhood's highest purpose: to be a source of wisdom and peace and actively contribute to the world's well-being.
Elders know what they signed up for when they purposefully moved from Older to Elder. Healing yourself and the world was a mandatory part of their core curriculum to get their Elder degree.
THE WAY IT IS
In today’s culture, Elders are seen as Olders. Thus, they are relegated to the margins, with no speaking parts in society’s narrative. Their wisdom, earned through decades of lived experience, goes uncalled upon, overshadowed by the audience’s obsession with novelty and its insatiable appetite for speed.
Preference for what is new, sexy, and fast eclipses the depth and substance that Elders bring—a depth rooted in reflection, patience, and a lifetime of lessons learned. But being new, sexy, and fast is only making things worse. The door is opening for Elders.
A new narrative is being written, a new storyboard is being developed, and it demands attention. It is about Elders stepping forward to reclaim their rightful place as stewards of humanity's progress and caretakers of its spirit.
As this new narrative unfolds, Elders will not be seen as relics of the past but as needed participants in shaping the future. Their lived experience and wisdom become a resource for insight, guidance, and healing in a world hungry for meaning and direction.
Elders are coming to the writers' meetings and writing themselves back into the script—not as background characters or momentary walk-ons but as protagonists in a more compassionate and enlightened world narrative. The screen is ready, the audience is seeking and vast, and the role awaits.
THE CALL
To achieve their status, Elders undertook personal transformation. They expanded specific characteristics and qualities and disregarded others. They cultivated the courage to stand apart from the noise of contemporary culture and embody the qualities that define a true Elder: serenity in the face of chaos, purpose amid aimlessness, wisdom that transcends short-term thinking, and figured out that “enough” is actually enough.
As stewards of wisdom and experience, elders are in tune with the cycles of destruction and renewal. They understand the consequences of unchecked greed and imbalance, having witnessed the rise and fall of systems throughout their lives.
To be seen as an Elder, they present themselves in ways that command respect and recognition. This is not about seeking validation but embodying a presence so grounded and authentic that it draws others toward them.
To be appreciated, elders' lives must be examples of balancing wisdom with humility and action with reflection. For me, that is the benefit of being an Elder.
To be heard as Elders: In a world overflowing with information, now without fact-checking, their voices must rise above the clamor, shouting, and screen-screeching.
To be heard, Elders must master the art of authentic sharing, weaving their wisdom into resonating narratives. Sharing that strikes the interior “emotional tuning forks” of listeners.
Speaking as an elder is not simply about communicating opinions—it is about offering insights that arise from deep reflection and lived experience. It is speaking with influence that comes not from power but from deeper understanding through wisdom.
Elders' tasks are not easy. They require resilience to confront a culture that dismisses them, creativity to find new ways to engage younger generations who view them as obsolete, and a profound sense of responsibility to act as stewards for a future they may not live to see.
Though foreboding, the future projected in this video is not inevitable. Rooted in a deep sense of purpose, elders can step forward to alter this future, which is already proceeding and picking up speed.
The next step is to coalesce twenty percent of the 53 million people over 65 in the U.S. into authentic elders, 106 million. This number breaches the tipping point. Elders will have the strength and wisdom to intervene with power to change the inevitability of this future.
It’s Not a Done Deal, But I’ll Take Your Bets.
I believe I have the numbers to back up my closing request.
According to current data, there are 53 million people aged 65 and older in our country today. This is the fastest-growing demographic in the United States. By the end of this decade, the 65-and-over population is projected to reach 73 million, accounting for over 20% of the total population and representing a significant segment of society.
This is when the “listening” will open, when the door opens for the Elders to sit at the table.
Today, those 65 and over possess an aggregated net worth of $19,022,760,000,000, or approximately $19.02 trillion. Elon Musk’s sits at $415.8 billion. The percent difference between $19.02 trillion and $415.8 billion is approximately 4474.31%, meaning $19.02 trillion is over 44 times greater than $415.8 billion. So, the numbers are there. We dwarf Amazon, Facebook, and the U.S. economy.
Moving elders to the place of influence has many boulders to be moved. But the world I encounter is miserable, scared, and anxious about their future. The world is shaking with fires, weather disasters, killings, untrustworthy governments, and uncertain futures. The time is right for Elders to be Elders in the world.
Hillel the Elder, a Jewish scholar from the 1st century, retorted, “If not you, then who? If not now, when?” The answer was evident when I asked Hillel’s question of myself and now my fellow Elders. It is our time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Catch Marc on Answers for Elders as he discusses the difference between "Older" and "Elder" with Suzanna Newman. Tune in Sunday at 3 PM PST on Portland's AM 860 The Answer (KPAM), on one of the channels listed below, or watch for the recorded podcast on their YouTube or Website.
