©
Imelda Maurer, cdp
Yesterday I posted the poem, “Light Within the
Darkness”, suggesting that you ponder it before I offered my own thoughts on
it. Here are those thoughts.
The writer counters the decline of the physical
body with the ongoing development of the mind, spirit and soul. The consequence
is “the radiance of the sage”, becoming the light within a dark world.
Recent advances in the study of the brain and
adult development do indeed show that there is growth and development on
multiple levels in the second half of life. The positive changes of life after
fifty do provide for the blossoming of wisdom and generativity. Indeed, the sages of the world can claim “radiance”
in a dark world.
Why don’t we experience that that is so? My first thought is to blame the
pervasiveness of ageism. Older adults
are seen as ‘over the hill’, and ‘past their prime’. That does not make it so,
of course. However this is what complicates the matter – self-perception in
many cases.
Have you read Kennth Clark’s study done around 1940
with young Black children aged three to seven years? These youngsters were
shown two dolls and asked to choose. One
doll was white with blond hair; the other doll was brown with black hair. Overwhelmingly the young Black girls chose
the Caucasian-featured dolls. Here is a quote about the study:
Some
of the participants even employed aesthetic language in their unsolicited
explanations for choosing the white doll. “Cause it’s white — it’s pretty,”
said one child, or “cause he’s not colored like these — they the best looking
cause they’re white.” The black dolls, on the other hand, were described as
“ugly.”
The
Black children in the study had internalized
society’s racist views to their own detriment.
Because racism has at least been exposed, though not erased, it is
probable that Kenneth Clark’s study would result in different conclusions
today.
I believe
older adults are very prone to internalizing society’s prejudices of
ageism. Older adults who internalize
this prejudice have their own self-esteem diminished. It is not surprising in a
way. Every encounter offers the chance that we are seen, not as a person, an
individual with a unique life story and accomplishments, but as an “old person”
with all that our society believes about old people
Rise
up, my good people! Our task is to confront this ageism from within and from
without! Know and honor who you are and who you are becoming! Recognize the
signs of ageism within yourself and confront them. Confront ageism wherever you
see it. The darkness of the world needs
the brilliance of the sage!
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