I bumped into an old friend and financial planner/insurance salesman
at a party last night. Bemoaning that more than 60% of the Boomers
don’t have a ‘plan’ for their retirement years, he was suggesting we’re
not being responsible for the inevitable downward spiral that awaits
us. He was proud (and a little smug) that he was still ‘very fit’ and
runs marathons. His commitment to health and financial planning are
admirable, and yet it was obvious that
Monthly Archives: November 2006
Natural Aging
By Shae Hadden
Bio
lying down on wet cement
like an abstract expression of natural beauty
Who am I?
I think the most important question we ever ask ourselves is “Who am
I?” There are probably as many ways to answer this question as there
are philosophies. How we answer it will determine a lot about how we
observe the world, the possibilities we have, how we relate to the
future and, ultimately, how we experience our lives.
For
example, the prevailing culture, at least in the West, will tell us
that “who we are” is a fact — that we are biological objects in an
objective
Late-Life Libido
Ronni at TGB recently took a whack at being inundated by wrap-around sexually explicit media
and how it can negatively stereotype older folks whose libidos are in a
state of “natural” decline. I wonder if a declining libido is natural.
If we know of examples of late-life lust, then it can’t be natural. It
is a choice.
Now,
if people simply lose interest or want to let it go, then I respect
their choice. However, if they are buying into a story that they
‘can’t’ or
The Wisdom to Know the Difference
Think about the positive attributes of growing older, and ‘wisdom’
will always appear near the top of the list. Until recently, I had
assumed ‘wisdom’ was a kind of ‘right knowledge’. Every time someone
says the Serenity Prayer, I am reminded of this attribute again.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I
cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference.”
The Day After
As Dick Gregory used to say when talking about social change, “In a forest fire, there comes a time when the only thing that will save us is a ‘shift in the wind’”. Well, we certainly witnessed a shift in the wind yesterday with the mid-term election results.
This blog is dedicated to the idea that those of us who are “old enough to know better” have a special role and an opportunity to make a difference. Today is one of those moments where we can choose to exercise our wisdom and maturity
Choices
By Vincent DiBianca
Bio
Regarding aging, health and well-being—I find myself interacting
with people who live in two worlds. Many of my friends take medication
(particularly antibiotics for loads of ailments), undergo surgery, eat
what they want, rarely exercise and several smoke. Other friends
(although fewer in number) believe that the body can heal itself inside
out, eat nutritionally (organic foods, vegan or vegetarian), meditate
and exercise regularly,
Seniors Discounts
Why do organizations, companies and government offer seniors
discounts? Next spring, according to the airlines and almost every
other organization that gives perks to folks 65 and older, I will
officially be considered a ‘senior’. I will have to wait at least an
additional 10 months to qualify for the Everest of aging — Social
Security. Why they make this distinction at age 65 is a bit of a
mystery to me.
I
suppose it is based on the assumption that many of us with gray hair
are
Taking a Stand
My friend Carole is a crusader. About 25 years ago, she had a distant relative die in a nursing home. When she looked into it, she found that the doctor who looked after the patients wasn’t licensed, rarely made rounds, the State inspectors overlooked or didn’t look at dozens of flagrant violations of regulations, and there was a cozy relationship between the healthcare industry, government and nursing home operators—lots of folks were making lots of money from nursing homes at the expense
Limits
Was talking to a friend the other night and she came up with one of
those semi-profound things that sticks in your head and gets more and
more interesting the more you think about it. She said: “Without limits in life, you have nothing”.
So
was she saying that living without limits is not such a good idea
(since limits define what is possible)? Or was she saying that living
without limits is good (since once you realize you have nothing, you
have everything)? This was