In the face of all the current threats to civilization and the end of life as we know it, I’m a bit reluctant to focus on my number one ‘peeve’. But I think it’s symptomatic of a deep and growing philosophical and social problem that leaves people feeling powerless. I am referring, of course, to computerized phone systems that answer incoming calls and lead you through a process, allegedly to assist you by answering your questions or finding the right human being for you to speak with.
I
Growth is one of those words that we all hear as a good thing. Unless we’re talking about the growth of something we don’t want, such as hair in your nose, corns on your feet or malignant cells in your body. We also don’t want growth in crime, in violence, in substance abuse or in any other socially undesirable areas. We aren’t fond of seeing growth in inflation, pollution, teen pregnancy or vacuous television programming (ah, the contrived nature of ‘reality TV’!). And, of course,
By Kay Costley-White
The most joyful person I have ever met was a young man dying of AIDS. Chris’s path to serenity had been long and difficult. In the early 1990s, his family, afraid of their community’s reaction to his gay lifestyle, rejected him. He moved from central Canada to Vancouver, developed a family of choice, and lived with a partner committed to a life-long relationship. But his partner and many of his friends died of AIDS. Then his place of employment found out the reason for his many absences for sick leave, and he was fired on the spot. Later, life-threatening infections kept him in hospital, too weak to care for himself. When I knew him, he understood that there was no hope for a cure or prolongation of his life. Medicine could do nothing beyond keeping him comfortable, and he was facing his imminent death. ButI’m beginning to appreciate the subtle shifts that can happen when we retire and don’t have all the props and externals sources of stimulation to motivate us, provoke our actions, and give us feedback on what and how we are doing. These days, quite a few people I know are either retiring or thinking about it. A few seem genuinely excited at the prospect, a couple are a bit tentative and worried about how they will fare, and a number seem matter-of-fact about it (they’re kind of just doing
By Marilyn Hay
This is the second post in a two-part series.
Changes and adaptations to my arthritis didn’t end with learning to manage pain or finding new and fulfilling things to do at home. I could no longer manage the spiral staircase where I was living—I came close to falling enough times that it scared me. And the long, brutally cold winters in Winnipeg brought even more constant, relentless pain. I couldn’t bend well enough to get boots on, so was often confined indoors, unable to negotiate the snow. The idea of house-hunting was exhausting and I really didn’t know where to begin looking. I just knew I needed somewhere that wouldn’t get as cold in the winter and, hopefully, wouldn’t have as much snow.Luckily,
just as I decided I needed to move, friends discovered a new adult
housing development being built in British Columbia, so I didn’t need
to do any house-hunting. I bought a unit online and I’ve lived here for
over two years now. I live in a bungalow now, so no stairs to worry
about. In spite of the fact that the prolonged winter rains and damp
aggravate my joints, I love it. At least I
By Stu Whitley
Bio
This is the fourth in a four-part series.
During his entire life, my father has adhered to a habit of truth—‘truth’ in that he has not been afraid to question the ‘why’ of a thing. This included the way in which the past influences the future, and his determination to manage events to the extent that it has been possible.“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it,” he’d say.
This
was nowhere more apparent than in his decision to emigrate to Canada to
seek a better future for all of us. Three homes in three countries
within the span of a decade:
two brothers and I jostled our way
to the smoke green Pullman cars
only to be yanked back sharply
by a skinny old man in a pillbox cap
declaiming ‘Canadian National Railway’
It seems to me that everyone who is thinking about retiring should take some time to think about the future. When we retire, we’re not just entering another phase of life: we’re at the beginning of a new journey into an entirely new and very different territory. The closest analogy I can think of is the transition from my educational life in university into the world of work and career. No matter what I thought it would be like and no matter how much information and advice I got, it
I had breakfast yesterday with an old friend and client who is a government executive. We were talking about people we knew, many of whom had retired in the past few years. She was sad and disappointed to report that, although they had left voluntarily, many were resentful, feeling like they were tossed out and no longer needed. As we talked, I realized how seldom we take the time to manage the retirement process in large organizations in such a way that retirees feel acknowledged, appreciated
By Shae Hadden
Bio
I was somewhat surprised to see
that most conference participants appeared to be in their late 40s and
up. The few younger people who were present stood out from the crowd.
Korten noted in his closing remarks how most audiences he speaks to are
comprised of older people in their 50s and 60s, and that there is a
need to attract younger people. Perhaps their absence is indicative of
the fact that North American society does not, for the most part,
At my men’s group meeting this weekend, my friend Vian was observing that as we aged, most of us middle-aged men seemed to be emerging from a kind of chrysalis and that we were in various states of becoming ‘butterflies’. After a few chuckles at the metaphor, we had to admit that, on the back side of our middle-aged crisis, we were a lot more mature, a lot more comfortable in our own skins and a lot more grateful, humble and serene than at earlier