02/24/2026
Have lunch with an elderly person.
Not out of obligation. Not because you feel sorry for them. Do it because they carry entire lifetimes inside of them.
Sit across the table and really listen.
They’ve lived through things you only read about in history books. They remember a world without cell phones, without social media, and before the swipe left mentality.
They know what it was like to wait for letters in the mail, to work jobs that demanded grit, to love in a time when commitment meant something different.
Ask them about their childhood. Ask them about their first love. Ask them about their biggest mistake. Watch how their eyes light up when they talk about moments most people have forgotten.
They can teach you patience in a world that rushes everything. They can teach you resilience without calling it that. They can teach you how to survive heartbreak, loss, financial hardship, and still wake up every morning with gratitude.
An elderly person can show you what really matters at the end of the day. It’s rarely money. Rarely status. Almost never the things we stress about.
It’s relationships. It’s faith. It’s family. And it’s memories.
Lunch might cost you an hour of your time.
But the wisdom you walk away with could shape the rest of your life.
~ Cody Bret
