By Jim Selman | Bio
I cannot remember having experienced or even
having read about a time when there have been so many “extremes”
co-existing in terms of political points of view and ways of
understanding the world. All seem to simultaneously have the quality of
being both ‘life threatening’ AND intractable. Whether we’re discussing
climate change, social justice, lifestyles, civil rights, the economy,
our political process or the price of oil, everyone seems to have a
strongly held point of view without much evident interest in learning or
working toward some common resolution of our differences. It would seem
collaboration is fast becoming extinct—an endangered competence.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Leadership
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By Rick Fullerton | Bio
On my way to a candlelight vigil for climate
justice, I wondered who else would show up. It was minus 5 Celsius and
with the wind chill it felt like minus 25—bitterly cold by any measure.
Hardly a day to be concerned about global warming. Yet some 200
committed souls braved the cold—some on foot, some on bicycles, and
others (reluctantly) by car. By the time I arrived, the vigil
organizers had thankfully decided to move the event inside. Once out of
the cold wind, I was impressed by the strange bedfellows who had come
together to express their commitment to the future of the planet.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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By Stuart J. Whitley | Bio
Einstein is supposed to have said that the
most important decision we ever make is whether the world is a good
place or a bad place. I don’t believe that we consciously make that
decision—we are taught to believe it, one way or the other, and the
most difficult lesson of all to unlearn is that we live in a hostile
universe. There are just too many confirmatory events that tend to
erode our courage to think differently. Current strategies in[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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By Jim Selman | Bio
There was an interesting article in the New York Times on Generation OMG
speculating on the impact of the current economic crunch on our younger
generations. It compares some of the conventional wisdom about the
impact of the “Great Depression” on our parents with views on how the
“Great Recession” will affect our children. The conclusion is that
nobody knows, although most believe that living in tough times does
affect how people see the world and can forge a generation’s ‘way of
being’. I am not sure[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
There is a phenomenon I point to in my
work called “already listening”. This is akin to the ‘little voice’ in
our heads that goes on and on about everything. It is our internal and
automatic ‘judgment muscle’. It is called already listening because it
is what we bring to a conversation before anyone speaks. It is the
“pre” filter that is always organizing what we think. It is not the
same as hearing. We can all hear the same thing, but not ‘listen’ the
same thing. Already listening is mostly cultural and always
historical—it is based on our past. Already listening isn’t good or bad, but when we are unconscious about it,[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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 By Shae Hadden | Bio
Traditionally, a generation was defined as the time between the birth
of parents and the birth of their offspring (about 30 years). Recently,
however, a more accurate definition would be a group of people born and
shaped by a particular span of time. The eras of Generations X, Y and Z
span much less than two decades each. And every generation experiences
life from a different perspective including changing societal values,
technologies and career options. These different perspectives are very
apparent when we communicate with each other. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
The
1970s in the USA may not have been the ‘Age of Enlightenment’, but it
was certainly the ‘Age of the Pursuit of Enlightenment’. The Esalen
Institute was in its hey day, the est training was blowing everyone’s
mind, and authentic Indian yogis were in demand. We thought the Age of
Aquarius was really here and that peace and love were just a few years
away. Maybe we were naïve, but it was a good time when young people were
trying hard to be better people and when it wasn’t embarrassing to be
idealistic.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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Read Creativity I.
Now it's easy to hear this conversation about 'standing in
possibilities' of what the future might be as some sort of optimism
versus pessimism discussion—the “Just be happy” versus “There’s no
hope” maxims. I am not suggesting this at all. Optimism and pessimism
are grounded in positive or negative predictions of the future. Changing how we observe is not a function of prediction: it is a function of commitment. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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My friend Dan at Curmudgeon recently sent me a very interesting video of a speech by Sir Ken Robinson.
He is a British educator committed to reinventing education to give
creativity in our schools as much weight as we now give to literacy.
This makes sense. One of the underlying principles of Serene Ambition
is that we need intergenerational collaboration. No one has any idea
what the future will be and, therefore, we need to collaborate in new
ways. Collaboration isn’t problem-solving: it is creative dialogue and
coordination of action. Creativity isn’t just the province of the
young—it is a possibility for everyone—and we can continue to be
creative to our last days.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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"When you find the right person, age doesn't matter." Intergenerational
relationships are not a thing of the past. They are actually alive and
well in North America. There is good coverage of the many people who
work and volunteer helping seniors. However, reports like this one out
of Tennessee show that women developing friendships across generations
can create a future not possible without intergenerational
collaboration. Common interests, mutual respect, and caring are the
foundations for invaluable friendships like these: relationships that
cross the generation gap, embrace differences and accept each person as
they are. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at News
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