Last week we spoke with young environmental and social justice activist Hajar Ouahbi about the importance of intergenerational conversations within the climate movement.
Talking with both younger and older generations allows us to learn insights about places and times we will never see, and break out of our own habits and ingrained biases. So let’s appreciate learning from older generations for a moment. What does it mean to you? What lessons have your elders taught you?
Thanks for creating this thread Alexandra! One thing I learnt from my gran is the importance of slowing down and noticing the small things about our surroundings & other people - I am prone to bombarding around and missing what's in front of me, so I'm trying to be more attentive and appreciative of details
My oma had a knack for surrounding herself with kind, understanding people who would bring out the best in each other. If like-minded people keep doing that then surely we are capable of changing this world for the better. At the very least we will have tried in good company.
My grandparents (especially my grandmother) lived “REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE” to an extreme--my grandmother never bought a yogurt container that couldn’t be reused until it broke, and she even saved the bags that cereal came in. Now, at times their thrift bordered on cheapness, especially when it came to gift giving: one Christmas I got a Pez dispenser--but no candy to put in it. Later, when I was married, my wife received a package of decorative paper napkins. Man, I really loved them both.
My great-grandmother would not waste a thing! Whether it was food or clothing. She had a garden, canned her food, mended all clothing and helped others in need. For all of us to live more sustainablely we need to go back in time and live as our grandparents did. At least in some ways. 🙂
I agree, we have a lot left to learn from the older generations. We haven't always been a throw-away society, we just got so used to a certain lifestyle.
My grandfather thought me to take proper care of tools and things, so they would last a lifetime (at least). Start with quality, take your time to get it right and repair what's broken. These basic principles were a no-brainer for their generation but got buried by consumerism.
What you mention is true. Older generations used to buy for durability, choosing a more expensive product that would last longer than the cheaper version.
It's still a thing in Japan, a lot of people won't buy from a brand known to not build their products to have a 10 years lifespan at least. The camera I bought there, a Japanese brand, is still alive and kicking, 14 years later but there's a trick : even if it's the same model sold in the rest of the world, it isn't the same parts, they have a dedicated production line to the Japanese market. One that makes what looks like unbreakable parts. No international warranty tho...
Grandma Phyllis; was born 1900, came over from Romania on a boat 1914 to help her ailing father in Canada (and to flee WWI, I would think). She never spoke of any family in Romania, as if it was 'over' or too far away. When she got to Canada, she met a man from her hometown in Romania, but whom she did not know there. They married and had 7 children who had many many children themselves. She ended up outliving her husband by 40+ years or so. Greek Orthodox religion, read her bible every night. (I am a pagan, the oldest 'religion'- just give me trees please). I would sit in the back seat of the car with her when we travelled and just stare at her hands, her skin to me was an impossible crepe paper texture, I thought they were beautiful. She was so measured and lived within her self, within her means. She was somber mostly, but her sense of humor would sneak out occasionally; when watching a weighlifting competition on TV, she said 'Looks like they swallowed a bunch of nuts and bolts'....pretty funny. Once I got to watch her make doughnuts from scratch, (I was 10) and also a raisin and nut pastry, the dough was enormous when she rolled it out, and sticky. Just those 2 times did she cook like that, she was getting too old to stand up that long after that. She lived to be 98. Phyllis (Puscas) Stanutz from Bucharest. I learned that life can be a very long road, I learned to be quiet mostly, I learned to endure things. She was my window into the past, where people were more still, more collected, inside.
Thanks for creating this thread Alexandra! One thing I learnt from my gran is the importance of slowing down and noticing the small things about our surroundings & other people - I am prone to bombarding around and missing what's in front of me, so I'm trying to be more attentive and appreciative of details
My oma had a knack for surrounding herself with kind, understanding people who would bring out the best in each other. If like-minded people keep doing that then surely we are capable of changing this world for the better. At the very least we will have tried in good company.
My grandparents (especially my grandmother) lived “REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE” to an extreme--my grandmother never bought a yogurt container that couldn’t be reused until it broke, and she even saved the bags that cereal came in. Now, at times their thrift bordered on cheapness, especially when it came to gift giving: one Christmas I got a Pez dispenser--but no candy to put in it. Later, when I was married, my wife received a package of decorative paper napkins. Man, I really loved them both.
Thank you for that story. Your grandparents were actual eco-warriors, they never gave up, not even during holidays!
My great-grandmother would not waste a thing! Whether it was food or clothing. She had a garden, canned her food, mended all clothing and helped others in need. For all of us to live more sustainablely we need to go back in time and live as our grandparents did. At least in some ways. 🙂
I agree, we have a lot left to learn from the older generations. We haven't always been a throw-away society, we just got so used to a certain lifestyle.
My grandfather thought me to take proper care of tools and things, so they would last a lifetime (at least). Start with quality, take your time to get it right and repair what's broken. These basic principles were a no-brainer for their generation but got buried by consumerism.
What you mention is true. Older generations used to buy for durability, choosing a more expensive product that would last longer than the cheaper version.
It's still a thing in Japan, a lot of people won't buy from a brand known to not build their products to have a 10 years lifespan at least. The camera I bought there, a Japanese brand, is still alive and kicking, 14 years later but there's a trick : even if it's the same model sold in the rest of the world, it isn't the same parts, they have a dedicated production line to the Japanese market. One that makes what looks like unbreakable parts. No international warranty tho...
Grandma Phyllis; was born 1900, came over from Romania on a boat 1914 to help her ailing father in Canada (and to flee WWI, I would think). She never spoke of any family in Romania, as if it was 'over' or too far away. When she got to Canada, she met a man from her hometown in Romania, but whom she did not know there. They married and had 7 children who had many many children themselves. She ended up outliving her husband by 40+ years or so. Greek Orthodox religion, read her bible every night. (I am a pagan, the oldest 'religion'- just give me trees please). I would sit in the back seat of the car with her when we travelled and just stare at her hands, her skin to me was an impossible crepe paper texture, I thought they were beautiful. She was so measured and lived within her self, within her means. She was somber mostly, but her sense of humor would sneak out occasionally; when watching a weighlifting competition on TV, she said 'Looks like they swallowed a bunch of nuts and bolts'....pretty funny. Once I got to watch her make doughnuts from scratch, (I was 10) and also a raisin and nut pastry, the dough was enormous when she rolled it out, and sticky. Just those 2 times did she cook like that, she was getting too old to stand up that long after that. She lived to be 98. Phyllis (Puscas) Stanutz from Bucharest. I learned that life can be a very long road, I learned to be quiet mostly, I learned to endure things. She was my window into the past, where people were more still, more collected, inside.
Thanks Jacquelyn, for sharing such a lovely memory of your grandmother.