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There was a discussion on race and diversity this morning on Good Morning America. Robin Roberts ended the piece by saying “diversity begins with dialogue”. I liked that, so here goes. This message today isn’t about race, but about aging. Regardless of political persuasion, no one can refute that we took a giant step forward in addressing the racial disparities in this past election. I personally find that very exciting. For me, it meant we opened access to great innovation and intellect. People who either didn’t have the opportunity to participate or didn’t feel they had the opportunity, now were officially invited to the table! Like many others, I felt it was long overdue and was overjoyed to see a majority of voters move beyond the issue of race. God knows, we can use all the collective brainpower we can muster considering our current situation.

It also, however, left me feeling sad. In a country where youth and independence are valued almost to exclusivity, we have another group of people who are written off, “put away”, “placed” often out of sight. As we age or face end-of-life, there are almost always things we need help with, things we can’t do now that we could once do with ease. It may be things we can’t remember to do, things we physically can’t do, or things we choose not to do.  While we experience change and even some limitations in certain areas, those things don’t make us useless.  At EarthWonders we look for the lessons in Nature.  And in this case, the lesson is that Nature embraces life, death, and all the cycles and seasons inbetween.  Change doesn’t strip something of its purpose and value.  Why even in the decaying process, matter is not waste, but nourishment and fuel for others. In Nature, diversity = choice = sustainability.  I think this holds true in human nature as well.  Aging holds lessons critical to the next generations.  People who are facing the end of life often have insight not available to the rest of us.  The world is richer when we enjoy and embrace the knowledge and wisdom of all ages.  “Diversity begins with dialogue”.  What better place to start than on a blog?