--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even very recently, the elders could say…" description: "\"Even very recently, the elders could say: 'You know, I have been young and you never have been old.' But today's young people can reply: 'You never hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/margaret-mead-982_aging_even-very-recently-the-elders-could-say_2931749.jpg" --- # Even very recently, the elders could say: 'You know, I… ![“Even very recently, the elders could say: 'You know, I have been young and you never have been old.' But today's young people can reply: 'You never have been young in the world I am young in, and you never can be.' ... the older generation will never see repeated in the lives of young people their…” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/margaret-mead-982_aging_even-very-recently-the-elders-could-say_2931749.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/margaret-mead-982_aging_even-very-recently-the-elders-could-say_2931749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/margaret-mead-982_aging_even-very-recently-the-elders-could-say_2931749.jpg) > “Even very recently, the elders could say: 'You know, I have been young and you never have been old.' But today's young people can reply: 'You never have been young in the world I am young in, and you never can be.' ... the older generation will never see repeated in the lives of young people their own unprecedented experience of sequentially emerging change. This break between generations is wholly new: it is planetary and universal.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Older and younger generations experience time differently, creating a planetary, universal gap that never repeats for the elders. **In simple terms:** Time feels different for each generation. Key Takeaway Recognize and bridge generational perspectives. Themes generational gap time perception change universal experience Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family discussions - workplace mentoring - policy making - education curricula Key Concepts sociology chronology intergenerational dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies honor both past wisdom and present innovation? - What practices help bridge this temporal divide? A Different Perspective Older perspectives may overlook rapid technological shifts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Elders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elders/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Older generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-generation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [If readers, young and old, would take even a moment to reflect on our rapidly shifting culture and ideology, I would be happy. Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/if-readers-young-and-old-would-take-even-a-moment-to-reflect-on-our/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“I didn’t know what being young had to do with it. It seemed to me that older people could do foolish things just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-m-wilson/i-didn-t-know-what-being-young-had-to-do-with-it-it-seemed-to-me-that/) [Catherine M. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-m-wilson/) > [If your gonna screw up, do it while you're young. Older you get, the harder it is to bounce back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-groom/if-your-gonna-screw-up-do-it-while-you-re-young-older-you-get-the/) [Winston Groom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-groom/) > [The old get younger, the young get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-dangoor/the-old-get-younger-the-young-get-older/) [Robert D Dangoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-dangoor/) > [We tend to rush through life when we're young…but now that we're older, we're slamming the breaks as hard as we can!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gbatiste/we-tend-to-rush-through-life-when-we-re-young-but-now-that-we-re/) [GBatiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gbatiste/) > [My friends, when I was young, were always older than I was, and I've always liked them. And I love old men and old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivien-leigh/my-friends-when-i-was-young-were-always-older-than-i-was-and-i-ve/) [Vivien Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivien-leigh/) > [I am beginning with the young. We older ones are used up. Yes, we are old already. We are rotten to the marrow. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-am-beginning-with-the-young-we-older-ones-are-used-up-yes-we-are/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I begin with the young. We older ones are used up but my magnificent youngsters! Are there finer ones anywhere in the world? Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-begin-with-the-young-we-older-ones-are-used-up-but-my-magnificent/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Young and older people need to learn relationships take time and effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/young-and-older-people-need-to-learn-relationships-take-time-and/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) > [Eveyday I'm with you I fall in love all over again , we was just young at first but now we are older and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blahhhh/eveyday-i-m-with-you-i-fall-in-love-all-over-again-we-was-just-young/) Blahhhh > [It is better for men to play around when they are young, if they do not, when they get older, they run the risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gintama/it-is-better-for-men-to-play-around-when-they-are-young-if-they-do/) [Gintama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gintama/) > [When I was young, I was older than I am today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/when-i-was-young-i-was-older-than-i-am-today/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [You are young, and I am older; You are hopeful, I am not- Enjoy life, ere it grow colder- Pluck the roses ere they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-are-young-and-i-am-older-you-are-hopeful-i-am-not-enjoy-life-ere/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [When you start learning how to give when you're young, when you get older it is second nature. Just like stealing. Start young and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mechai-viravaidya/when-you-start-learning-how-to-give-when-you-re-young-when-you-get/) [Mechai Viravaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mechai-viravaidya/) > [Although their parents died in the wilderness for their stubbornness, Israel could profit from the older generation's failure by remembering that God had used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/although-their-parents-died-in-the-wilderness-for-their-stubbornness/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even very recently, the elders could say: 'You know, I have been young and you never have been old.' 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