Older and Wiser
June 29, 2024
Two and a half years ago, I learned about Carlos San Juan. Dr. San Juan lives in Spain. In 2022, he started a campaign called “I’m old, not stupid.” His campaign began out of his frustration with managing his finances after many local bank branches in his area had closed. He was expected to understand digital banking concepts without training or human support. Carlos San Juan, a retired physician, started this campaign and had people sign petitions so that federal regulators of banks would be forced to provide at the very least education for digital banking and human support for those who were not only having trouble navigating the systems but also trusting them. The campaign forced the banking industry, as well as the larger culture in Spain, to consider their aging population. At least 20% of the population in Spain is over 65 years old.
Carlos San Juan isn’t stupid, and if he is still alive, he is now over 80. In fact, Dr. San Juan said it was ironic that few of the senior citizens whom his petition sought to defend appeared to have been among its signatories, possibly because they were not online. Still, he said, “many younger people feel sympathy for us, starting with my own granddaughters who have been very worried about my health and many others who now have an older family member who cannot cope with apps, and in some cases somebody who cannot afford a smartphone.”
Dr. San Juan was forced into early retirement 13 years ago when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and the shaking made it very hard for him to carry out his hospital work as a urologist in his home city of Valencia, in eastern Spain. Dr. San Juan has since spent his time listening to jazz and reading history books and spy novels — until he became an unlikely activist. While acknowledging that the digital transition was unstoppable, Mr. San Juan said the authorities and major institutions had a duty to make the change “less abrupt” for older and vulnerable people. Almost every public organization or private corporation is now forcing people to communicate online, including in the healthcare sector, where Mr. San Juan worked his entire life.
Carlos forced the banking industry to remember the need for human connection to facilitate trust so people can normalize change over time. How many times do we dismiss someone because they are “old” and they don’t get it? What is it the kids say? ….“Ok Boomer?”
There is a proverb that says, “The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is the gray head.” Younger people can be intelligent, but you must live to be wise.
Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. It encompasses cognitive abilities such as logical reasoning, problem-solving, learning, and comprehension. Wisdom is the ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on knowledge, experience, and deep understanding. Wisdom often comes with age and reflective thinking. Intelligence focuses on intellectual capabilities and knowledge processing. Wisdom focuses on practical and ethical implications.
Last week, I celebrated my birthday. While I never like to throw a big party, I am always grateful to get a year older. I don’t really understand why our culture devalues aging. Aging is a gift and a path to move from intelligence to wisdom. While physically growing older isn’t easy, if we concentrate on the wise voices of people like Carlos San Juan, we try to force our evolving digital world to be a little more human. We need to see each others humaness.
This week, when you roll out of bed with a few more aches and pains, I ask you to remember this quote from our Sages, “You, as an individual, are unique and irreplaceable. No person alive, no person who has ever lived, and no person who shall ever live, can fulfill the specific role in the creation of the world the way you can.” And as you age, you have been given a gift to do it with wisdom. Thank G-d.
Shavua Tov,
Betzy Lynch, CEO
