"The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking" by Roman Krznaric

 I received an alert from the "Talks at Google" YouTube account concerning a new video about Roman Krznaric and his recently released book:  "The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking."

After a quick investigation, I realized that this was the perfect read for developing the direction of my Elder Lives blog and organization.

“A society grows great when ELDERS plant trees whose shade they will never enjoy,” is my version of an supposedly ancient Greek aphorism, and conveys my feeling about my current mission.

Nebraska’s state nickname before the “Cornhusker State” was the “Tree Planter’s State.” Settlers coming to the prairie were ambitious in planting trees because they had a vision for a better life. It is for this reason that this state is the home of Arbor Day.

The seniors in our society have the responsibility to use their wisdom and perspective to begin initiating changes for which future generations will benefit, something very similar to tree planting.

For this reason, my organization Elder Lives and its YouTube channel 3rd Act Journey use images of trees to represent the needed long-term solutions.

The next step in my journey is to develop my online media and engage in speaking opportunities to share my vision, engaging and inspiring others to have a purpose of creating a better future.

Here's the blurb from YouTube: "Philosopher Roman Krznaric discusses his most recent book "The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking". Krznaric explores six ways we can expand our time horizons to confront the long-term challenges of our age— from the threats of climate change to the lack of planning for a global pandemic. Do we have what it takes to become the good ancestors that future generations deserve?"

I'll be doing a full review of this book for another blog post, but I'm glad this serendipity happened today, and it will be the best read for this Thanksgiving Day week. Gratitude is important, but it's just as important to have an eye towards the future, and how to make it better for our descendants, if we want to be good ancestors.