Tag Archives: growth

Fearless Aging

Fear: Toxin or Growth Hormone?

By Shae Hadden | Bio

The algae bloom on the lagoon where I’m housesitting seems symbolic of the state I’m in these days. Long-forgotten, half-hidden ideas seem to be coming to the forefront of my thinking and showing the richness of their colors and their impact on my life. Like my belief that “fear is toxic”. A belief that has been stored for years in my body and which I’m now choosing to let go of.

It’s true that fear triggers certain physiological responses in our bodies: adrenalin gets released, our heart rate increases, and all the normal ‘fight or flight’ responses come into play. And when fear is a constant in our lives, it becomes a constant in our bodies as well. My belief has been that it acts like a toxin, something harmful to our health and wellbeing, something that drains our energy and limits our ‘aliveness’. Over time, it can become a source of

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The Great Turning

Growth Too (Continued)

Here is what I call the ‘Eldering Consumer Checklist’ in this new marketplace. Actually it is a checklist for all consumers—it just comes more naturally as we get older and start living on a fixed (finite) income. We can take it with us and ask these questions before we spend a nickel on anything.

  1. Is this something I need? (As in, will I suffer without this?)
  2. Will I need this in the future? (Does this have continuing value?)
  3. Does the production of this item (or service) harm or potentially harm others?
  4. Does my consuming this contribute to our collective quality of life?
  5. In consuming this, who should I thank? Is there anyone I should apologize to?

“But wait a minute!” you say. “What about all the things I don’t really need but really do want”? My answer is that you still have a choice. But as long as our

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The Great Turning

Growth Too (Two)

I wrote a post on growth a while ago about how insane I think it is to believe we can grow forever—at least in terms of economic growth. I was also reading The World We Want posts by David Korten that echoed the same sentiments but that go further to point out that all the breakdowns that are appearing are perhaps the greatest creative opportunity in history. That got me thinking that while I

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The Great Turning

Growth

I remember having conversations about real estate prices 7 or 8 years ago, particularly on the West Coast. “How can prices keep rising and where does all the money come from to buy these properties?” A house I sold in 1997 resold in 2005 for four times what I sold it for! I am not an economist, but something didn’t seem right to me about this kind of never-ending upward spiral. My ex-wife sells homes and told me people were getting into million dollar properties with little or no down payment.

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The Great Turning

The World We Want: The Big Picture

By David Korten | Great Turning website

Many
of us have been anticipating the day of reckoning for our reckless
human ways for decades. That day has arrived. Peak oil, climate chaos,
financial collapse, and spreading social disintegration are all
consequences of deep cultural and institutional dysfunction. The
imperative to address them presents us with an epic test of our human
intelligence and creativity.

When I was a student in business
school my professors always told us "Go for the

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Learning

Compassion and Growth

By Shae Hadden
Bio

My sister reminded me last night that it’s gardening season. “The next three weeks are for planting,” she said. And that was it. For her, the next three weeks of her work life will be determined by her definition of this part of the growing season. Purchasing young seedlings, transplanting older plants, making last minute preparations of the garden beds, placing vital nutrients around plant roots. Working the soil and planting things.

I was struck by the sweet irony of life.

In
the midst of this season of new beginnings, some of my older women
friends are facing mid-life and end-of-life challenges. Seasons ago,
they ‘planted’ themselves in particular locations, lifestyles and ways
of thinking about things. And now the challenges they face are like
none they have experienced before. In a way, they are being offered
opportunities to let go, to ‘re-plant’ themselves,

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