Today, I spent time with some of “the elders.” The old trees that are gnarled but bring stability to young green trees. My elders look for you to come, come and bring with you all of your present, past, and future hopes. My elders look for you to come…come authentically transparent. My elders look for you to ….come. When you are in the presence of mature elders they pour out their wisdom like treasured perfumed oils. My elders anoint you with the stories of their tears and triumphs in hopes that you can keep moving on. Restoration much like that which was described by Neil Hill (2014) in his article How These Men Apologize Will Amaze You. Hill (2014) described an African tradition of restoration., in which, one that has transgressed is restored by others reaffirming his or her goodness.
Image from Neil Hill (2014)
So, whose in your restoring tribe? Who reaffirms your goodness even in the face of your humanity? Today, I saw that I need my tribe, my elders more than they need me. I saw myself in my elders’ eyes and I hope that they saw themselves reflected back at them. I pray that I am a good torch carrier for all of their investments and deposits of goodness/greatness into me.
Most of us think that our tribes have to be people we know. However, Barbara Sher (2016) shows us that our tribe is bigger than what we can imagine.
We must simply move from the place of isolation (island mentality) to one in which we seek out “our tribe.” Whose is in your tribe if you don’t have a tribe start seeking, developing, and cultivating one today.
References
Hill, N. (2014). How these men apologize will amaze you. The Good Man Project. Retrieved on December 23, 2018 from https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/nhe-131036/
Sher, B. (2016). TedTalk: Isolation is the dream-killer, not your attitude. Retrieved on December 23, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2rG4Dg6xyI.
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