all that we are with amisha tala oak (fka the future is beautiful)

TIMELESS // ‘How to Become a good Elder and Ancestor’ with Vanessa Andreotti - E227

Nov 27, 2024

In this episode, Vanessa Andreotti, a Brazilian educator and advocate for Indigenous rights, explores how to become good elders and ancestors. She emphasizes the need for a collective responsibility beyond our own lives. Vanessa invites listeners to reflect on what it means to age gracefully, the significance of storytelling, and the deep connections between generations. She critiques society’s view on aging, highlighting the potential for transformation through disillusionment and the urgent need for intergenerational wisdom. This conversation is a profound reminder of our role in shaping the future.

21:12

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Episode guests

Vanessa Andreotti

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Eldership involves sharing wisdom through grace and humility, transforming personal mistakes into communal learning for future generations.

Embracing pain as a vital teacher allows for deeper self-understanding and fosters resilience, redefining our relationship with time and aging.

Deep dives

The Essence of Eldership

Eldership is characterized not by having all the answers, but by the ability to process one's mistakes and share wisdom with future generations. This perspective emphasizes the importance of grace and humility in learning from errors, framing these experiences as generous acts of responsibility towards others. The speaker highlights that true wisdom involves a commitment to ensuring that past mistakes are not repeated, making it a communal rather than individual journey. This reframing challenges the conventional view of aging as a decline, instead positioning it as an opportunity for deep reflection and mutual support across generations.

Intro

5min

Embracing Eldership: Redefining Aging, Pain, and Time

3min

The Journey Through Eldership

7min

Finding Opportunity in Disillusionment and Embracing Responsibility

5min

A Call for Reflection and Community Support

2min

Drawing on her work as an educator, indigenous and land rights advocate and her mixed family history, Vanessa invites us to reflect on what it means to die well. How to become good elders and ancestors?

“It cannot be just about us. It has to be about our responsibility to the time when we are no longer here. And it cannot be a choice either. It has to be something visceral.” Vanessa Andreotti

This timeless wisdom teaches us about the ways in which we can be in service of the greater good. The times we are living in often make it difficult for elders to play their role and teach the younger generation about the mistakes and successes they have experienced. Vanessa sparks ideas around the multiple layers of time, aging and pain and opens up opportunities to interact differently with our elders and ancestors so we can let their stories be medicine for generations to come.

This is from our archives, part of a beautiful and powerful conversation we had in episode 156 with Vanessa Andreotti on Radical Tenderness, Eldership and Decolonisation // Embracing Our Pain. We hope that hearing this small piece will allow you to find new insights, embrace them and continue this practice of becoming a good elder and ancestor.

Links from this episode and more at allthatweare.org

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