This week has been a gift for me to experience the grace, wisdom and inspiration from our Elders. I have been producing a series of national radio commercials for the Australian Government to support their new Aged Care policy.

Spanish, Greek, Croatian, Italian, Vietnamese, Dutch, Polish, Arabic, German, Cantonese, Indigenous and Australian Elders aged between 55 and 75 years old graced me with their presence to record a beautiful array of their voices, speaking in their natural language.

Their expression is timeless.

How often do we actually listen to our Elders?

I realised that I don’t have many in my life apart from my parents and relatives, so it was truly beautiful to feel their enthusiasm and gratitude to be involved in this wonderful project. I cherish what they offer – wisdom, humour, joie de vivre and heart.

Even though the engineer and I didn’t know what they were saying, we could absolutely feel whether they were relaxed or tense, confident or shy, natural or forced by the way they were reading the script. Each one had their own passion and commitment to life.

Truly inspirational.

Remember – treat them with the essence of honour they deserve – that will be us one day.

With love, Sarah