I loved this thought from Wil Wheaton’s blog yesterday:

A friend of mine observed that we are slowly becoming the Elders, and that’s just really weird. I have been thinking about that, and it turns out there is a lot about that I’m not really ready to embrace, like accepting that people I love, who mean so much to me, are getting older (and elderly) with all that implies. It’s just … it’s really weird. At the same time, it feels really good and … gentle? … to embrace a position in life that allows me to be a kind, patient, supportive, and encouraging person in the world for anyone who needs it.

I’m thinking a lot about how I can talk about things from a place of experience, in a way that younger me would have been able to hear and internalize. I want to be a Helper so much, y’all.

Wil is such a lovely example of someone who has been through Hell, has labored - and continues to labor - at the work of healing, and who recognizes the call to care for the people around him in the ways he was never cared for. I want to become that kind of Elder, too.