Across Generations
“Elders are a sentinel species for humanness.”
— Stephen Jenkinson, Come of Age
For millennia, humans gathered around bonfires to hear and tell stories. On certain occasions, they were joined by a special guest. An elder would graciously take part in the conversation, sharing captivating stories and their perspective on the challenges and joys of the time.
With their panoramic view of reality, the elder would not offer their personal stories as entertainment only, but as a deeper understanding of the arc of human life. As inspiration, guidance and, when needed, solace for other generations. Younger people around the bonfire would share their own personal journeys and see them through the lens of the elder’s wisdom.
Across Generations recreates that experience for our modern times.
Across Generations is a series of online events where people of all ages get to hear from and interact with elders – individuals who have lived a long, full and self-examined life.
Each featured elder will bring their unique experience and viewpoint on topics such as identity, belonging, the civil rights movement, technology and our current state of divisiveness and otherness.
Through these events, younger generations will have a chance to gain perspective from those who have experienced a lifetime of change and transformation. And through these conversations we will begin to restore the role of elders as the keepers of wisdom and memory.
The experience
A 90-min virtual journey into the feeling of wonder and guidance
Invitation
Across Generations is an invitation. It invites you to try on a new lens through which to see your own reality and experience.
Being witness to an elder’s perspectives puts us in touch with a sense of humility and recognition that the river of life knows where to take us.
Inspiration
Wander through elders’ life experiences, emotional journeys and what they learned from it. Hear their thoughts on identity, change and transformation, struggles and this moment in time.
To reconnect us with awe and reverence, featured artists share their music, poetry and meditative journeys.
Interconnection
This is a shared space for connection. For beings to meet heart-to-heart and create something meaningful together.
All generations have the opportunity to engage in respectful dialogue with elders, around their individual experiences and the collective moment we share.
What people are saying
“The event was inspiring and touching. I really felt around a bonfire listening to the elder's stories and teachings. Thank you for creating such a beautiful project.”
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“Thank you for bringing us all together. A truly moving and inspiring evening. I am filled with hope and love.”
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“This event was amazing. It's different from all other events I have attended recently and it's much needed. ”
“I realize that since my grandmother passed, I lost touch with any elder person. This conversation illuminates how much this kind of presence is missing in my life, it’s just wonderful to hear an elder speak.”
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“I feel like I gained the benefit of a lifetime well lived. What a gift.“
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“I’m in my late 20’s and I’m constantly feeling as though it’s too late to start something new. This was a great reminder that it’s not!”
Featured Elders
Varda Yoran
Varda Yoran is an artist, writer and a learner.
She was born in China to Jewish parents who left Russia to seek refuge from anti-Semitism, famine and pogroms. She spent her first 20 years in China, where she survived the Japanese occupation. When Mao Tse Tung's China didn't welcome foreigners anymore, she was able to move to Israel with her twin sister. That is where, for the first time in her life, she felt a true sense of home and belonging. When she was 50, her husband's work took her and her family to the US, where she started a new chapter in her life, flourishing as an artist.
Varda runs the Rose Art Foundation nonprofit and started a philosophy group that reflects on topics like happiness and forgiveness. Before COVID she was learning new sculpting techniques and now she's exploring digital tools for drawing.
She is 91 years old and is an active member of her many communities. She is a wisdom carrier.
You can read more about Varda here.
Salomon Rettig
Salomon Rettig was born in Berlin in 1923. From his early days as a young Jewish boy, he was directly impacted by Hitler's rise to power, the dehumanization of German Jews and the Nazis' increasing political stronghold. It would be hard to invent a story as dramatic as that of his childhood.
When his mother could no longer care for him, he was sent to an orphanage at age 10. He fled Nazi Germany at age 13 to British Mandate Palestine, spent 10 years working in a communal kibbutz until he finally made his way to the United States, finding refuge in a new land with new promises.
He completed his education, earning a PhD, and embarked on a career as a professor of social psychology. He found purpose in teaching young minds and a sense of home – for the first time in his life – in the prosperity and possibility of America.
To hear Sal's stories is a rare opportunity to hear a remarkable piece of history. His journey is one towards the recognition of his own worth and true value. And it's a deep teaching on the importance of empathy and caring for one another – a message particularly relevant in present times, when divisiveness and intolerance seem to define the current state of America.
His is a journey of healing, to be carried out not solely by him, but by all of us.
You can read more about his life in his latest published book What a Life: From Nazi Germany Via Neo-Marxism to American Academia, and in the touching foreword to the book, written by his son, Lane Rettig.
Mary Azima
Mary Azima is an elder who has devoted herself to guiding others on how to live an extraordinary life - and how to face their mortality without fear.
Her wisdom is hard won, having been diagnosed with an auto-immune diagnosis in her youth and, more recently, with stage four cancer. In both cases, she has been able to find healing in unusual places and to beat the odds.
She believes that when you come to a crisis point in your health, whether it’s a sickness, end of life, or a pandemic, it’s a message to wake up. In this way, difficult life changing events become opportunities for growth when we face them fully.
One of her main avenues to healing has been the power of music. She has found herself spontaneously writing songs that connect her with something greater than herself and she shares her music to support others with their own healing.
She is an ordained Interfaith Minister with a Doctorate in Ministry, a Masters in Divinity from Yale and is also recognized as a Vedic Master. She also worked as a chaplain in hospitals, providing spiritual support at the bedsides of those in the process of passing.
While her faith is not bound to a single tradition, she believes deeply in the value of ritual and how it helps us make our lives sacred. To be in conversation with Mary is to experience the light that shines through her being and uplifts and inspires all those lucky enough to meet her.
You can learn more about Mary's work, her music and life here.
