Glimmers

INTERGENERATIONAL CONNECTION

Intergenerational connection isn’t simply a unilateral mentorship from the old to the young but a reciprocal relationship of learning and expansion. It can broaden the scope of understanding between generations and help break down limited societal notions of what it means to be at different life stages.

It can also shed light on how significant transitions happen throughout our lives – from leaving home for university to the midlife “crisis” or transitioning into retirement – with each leaving us feeling unmoored. Through shared glimpses of how each person, regardless of age, attends to the small moments, we can help bolster connections to ourselves and other.

Purpose

The Glimmers project an experience designed to nurture intergenerational connections for the The Legacy Project, a systems research, education, and innovation group who use intergenerational and place-based dynamics, for social and ecological regeneration.

The Experience in a Nutshell

The Glimmers experience starts off with participants being assigned to intergenerational dyads. In the first week, the pairs are tasked to share what they observe in their immediate environment. They receive the prompt: “Please think about a small experience today that called out to one of your five senses: something you saw, heard, felt, smelled, or tasted in your immediate environment.”

In week two, dyads again are asked to share reflections and respond to their partner’s glimmer moments. Some examples of participants’ recorded glimmer moments:

“Today I’m thinking about hearing, how important it is to us, how different it is species to species. And I don’t know, just about maybe taking the time and really listening to what’s around you, listening for those background noises, maybe taking a walk in nature and hearing what you hear, listening for different sounds.”
– Sheila

“And I really believe that music holds holographic codes, I think it holds much more than just the sound, it holds some fascinating insights inside the notes. And of course, music is the space between the notes. So again, music is a fusion of some very different sounds, perspectives, space, and notes.”
– Hilary