A library burns...

When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground. —Rwandan Proverb  

Antoinette and Yves with baby Naysa came to visit - so good to see them! In passing I must have said something about being an old man now, with a grey beard. Immediately they responded with the Rwandan proverb: When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground... it felt so affirming, and quite undid my negative thinking as I absorbed its impact. What value East African cultures place on elders!

In Tanzania, a younger person might greet an older person in Swahili with Shikamoo derived from nashika miguu yako 'I touch your feet'. The elder reply is marahaba (derived from Arabic).

The value of respect for elders and a loving response is found in scriptures. Is there something we could learn? Leviticus 19:32 commands:

You shall stand up before the grey head and honour the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

and Proverbs 20:29 is warm on grey hair!

The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendour of old men is their grey hair.

And there is a culture of honour for everyone based on understood family roles - Paul advises:

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. — 1 Timothy 5:1-2

I find myself challenged to own my age and stage of life and be comfortable with it. Is there a need to counter the impact of cultural ageism, both on ourselves and other people? There are good and bad things about honour cultures of course. But maybe we don't need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Could we bless and encourage others by honouring them too? Thank you Antoinette and Yves for bringing this to my attention so beautifully.