We’re always told to respect our elders, and there’s good reason for that! Our grandparents learned many things in their lives that the younger generations should heed. So, here are 17 things our grandparents did that we would benefit from, too.
Regular Exercise
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remind us that regular exercise is a key way to help you stay healthy, sleep better, and generally function better throughout your life. So, when our grandparents take regular walks and tend to the garden, we should certainly do so, too.
Frugal Living
Living within your means seems to be somewhat of a lost art these days as people just want to spend and spend, more and more. The younger generation seems to have lost the skill of budgeting as they want to buy the latest new thing all the time!
Handwritten Notes of Gratitude
The computer, or even the typewriter, seemed to remove some of the personal element of written communication, but we think it’s nice to go back to the old school from time to time and write an actual note. Your handwriting really can go a long way.
Using Natural Remedies
People tend to overuse painkillers and medicines in the U.S., a behavior that’s boomed fairly recently. If you were to speak to your grandparents on the matter, they’d probably suggest keeping it natural with herbal tea or a home remedy.
Sunday Dinners
Bringing the family together for some bonding time over a good Sunday dinner was a great way to keep everybody together. No matter how much you spoke during the week, a Sunday meal would help everybody catch up, but it’s not such a popular tradition anymore.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Healthline shows us countless benefits of meditation and mindfulness, including stress reduction, anxiety control, and general emotional health. There’s no age at which these aren’t a great idea, so be sure to follow in the footsteps of your grandparents with this behavior.
Handcrafted Goods
These days, everything seems to be manufactured in a factory, but our grandparents were never really interested in buying things from there. The quality of the craftsmanship of things like quilts and furniture is much higher when they’re made by hand, if not a little expensive.
Embracing Nature
One key thing that our grandparents used to do, which the younger generation does not do as much, is spend time in nature. Going outdoors for gardening, a picnic, or just a walk is not a common pastime in the way that it used to be.
Community Engagement
The world seems to be more isolated these days, other than through social media. But going out there and getting involved in the community is a great thing to do because of the friendship and sense of belonging. Our grandparents would tell us all about that.
Plastic-Free Living
According to the UN Environment Program, the equivalent of 2000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the oceans, rivers, and lakes of the world every single day. This is, of course, bad news, so we need to follow in the footsteps of our elders and cut down on plastic.
Walking More
We just talked about being in touch with nature, but there’s also a lot to be said for walking in general. Our grandparents tend to opt for a walk over using their car most of the time, and it is better for the mind and the body.
Fixing Things
The fast-purchase culture of the U.S. today has led to people discarding and replacing anything even slightly broken without even thinking about trying to fix it. That wasn’t the case in the days of our grandparents, who always tried to repair things.
Conserving Energy
Instead of just using home heating, air conditioning, electricity, etc., our grandparents would employ all kinds of tactics to save energy around the home. They’d use natural light and ventilation and air-dry clothes, just to name a few, to save money and be kind to the environment.
Growing Their Own Food
The Garden Continuum claims that growing your own food can reduce carbon emissions while helping to build a connection between people and nature, which can only be a good thing. It might seem dated, but this is a fantastic practice to get into if you can.
Bartering and Trading
The older generation would quite often trade goods and services without relying on money to get what they wanted. This was not only beneficial to their own pockets but also harvested a great sense of community as it could be mutually beneficial.
Taking Up Hobbies
Not many of us seem to knit, paint, or play instruments like people used to in previous generations. There are so many other distractions in life, such as video games and social media, that take up our time instead. But it’s actually much better for the brain to take up a hobby similar to those of the previous generations.
Playing Non-Electronic Games
On the subject of games, our grandparents always played with cards and boards long before anything electronic was introduced to the world. This was a more communal way to play instead of just sitting with a video game console on your own. Screens and technology aren’t so good!
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