 By Kevin Brown | Bio
Like
me, you can probably remember a relationship you had as a child with an
elderly relative or friend of the family. Some of my best memories of
such a time involve Mrs. Cowling, an elderly lady who lived next door
to us. We had just moved to a new neighborhood in Calgary, and there
were only two completed homes on the block. Our home had the only
family of children for about three blocks. There was my older sister
Paulette (13 years old), myself (7) , and my brand new brother Ken who
was not yet one. Mrs. Cowling was in her eighties[ Read More]
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
President Obama held a briefing on the Community Solutions Agenda
this past Tuesday, in which he acknowledged the contributions of
several winners of the “Purpose Prize” along with other not-for-profit
community organizations. The Purpose Prize was created a few years ago
by Civic Ventures
as a way to focus our attention on the ongoing contributions that
elders make in our country and the world. I thought the President’s
acknowledgment summed it up nicely, not only for the Elders in the room
but for people of all ages committed to making a difference.[ Read More]
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 By Shae Hadden | Bio
What
we do with our time seems to be an ongoing topic of interest for many.
Popular belief says we need to balance time for 'work' and 'life'.
Innumerable authors and experts have invented tools and techniques for
us to 'manage' our time. Common sense says that procrastination occurs
when we 'waste' time doing nothing or doing things other than what we
say we're going to do. More experts have written about how we can get
motivated, stop procrastinating and get down to business. Then why is
it that many still struggle with trying to stay focused on what they
really want to do? [ Read More]
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By Jim Selman | Bio
I remember a Harvard Lampoon edition of the New York Post
back during the cold war. At the top of the page, ½-inch letters
proclaimed the headline: “Russia drops the Big One—World War III
Declared”. Right below the enormous NY Post-style 6’’-wide
banner was the headline “MICHAEL JACKSON DIES”. It was funny then, but
it is not so funny now that he has, in fact, like Elvis before him,
become a force of history. I am reminded of the Lampoon as I watch the
round-the-clock all-channel coverage following Michael Jackson’s death.
It seems to me he is getting more airtime than Sammy Davis, Dean Martin
and Frank Sinatra all put together. Who else could have pushed the
Iranian election crisis to the back burner?[ Read More]
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By Shae Hadden | Bio
I was talking
with a friend recently about our parents, about what we're observing in
their health as they grow older and what we think is possible for them
in terms of living arrangements. I think a lot of Boomers are in this
same conversation these days. A few things we discussed got me
wondering about how 'true' any of our thinking about health issues in
later life really is for our parents. I began to ask myself whether we are fully present and mindful about this...[ Read More]
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By Jim Selman | Bio
As founder of The Eldering Institute,
I am a bit embarrassed to acknowledge that until last week I had not
asked the straightforward question, “What is an elder?” This is not to
say I haven’t been involved in the conversation for quite a long time.
I have spoken with Elders in aboriginal communities, African tribes,
and religious communities. I have read everything I can find on the
subject. There is no doubt that the role of Elder has been important
throughout human history and continues to be so in many communities on
the planet. But understanding the role of an elder in a particular
community context is not the same as understanding what an elder really
is, at least in our modern world. To say this differently, how would
you know if you were an Elder? How would you know one if you met him or
her?[ Read More]
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By Kevin Brown | Bio
At
the end of April this year, my wife and I spent a week in
Nevada. The purpose of our visit was purely one of rest and
relaxation. We spent a few days in Las Vegas and then a few in
Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead, Arizona. Our short vacation included a
few days of golf (for me), some sightseeing, viewing some real
estate properties, a Cirque du Soleil evening show, time by the pool,
lots of dining out, and a last-minute decision to take in ' Bodies...
The Exhibition' on display at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. While each of our activities provided the rest and enjoyment we
sought, it was the Bodies exhibition that left me both amazed
and filled with awe.[ Read More]
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The first intergenerational center in England is set to
open in October, providing shared services and facilities for children,
older
people, young people and families. Although the approach has been
around since the 1960s in the US, Europe has only seen growth in these
projects in the last 5 years. The breakup of the extended family means older people and young
people are less likely to come into contact than in previous centuries.
The roots of intergenerational practice lie in volunteer programs in
which young people visit older people to help them with household
chores. Today, the emphasis is on developing equal relationships and
eroding stereotypes between the groups. The spread of intergenerational practices and centers reflect the nature of our societies.
The European Union has declared 2012 to be the European Year of
Intergenerational Solidarity, a clear indication of a move toward creating the kind of multigenerational social networks needed for our future.
[ Read More]
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The recession has created a new trend: adults moving back in with
their parents. According to AARP, these 'blended' multigenerational
households have risen to 24% of the nation (representing a total of 6.2
million) between 2000 and 2008. Additionally, an astonishing 77% of
college grads move back home after completing their education
(according to a 2008 CollegeGrad.com survey, up 10% from 2006's survey
results). These 'boomerangers' (or returning 20-somethings) are being
joined by 30 and 40-year-olds, along with their spouses and families. One
issue receiving media attention is adjusting to the relationship
between parents and their children in this situation. Rather than
relating to each other as adults, family members may revert back to old
patterns of behaving and relating. The keys to successful blending?
Respect and communication. If parents and children can communicate with
each other about their issues and respect each other, these households
can benefit from having the perspective of multiple generations pulling
together in tough times.[ Read More]
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By Jim Selman | Bio
Last week was not a good week for the planet
and I've been taking it personally. Aside from the Iran Crisis and
North Korea, we had the usual games being played in Europe, South
America and Southeast Asia. At some moment, I realized that I had once
again drifted into a spectator role. I was trying to sort out the good
insurgents from the bad insurgents, the real terrorists from the
"revolutionaries", and I was finding that the conservative/liberal
divide seems to be a universal constant everywhere we look. As President Obama is declaring[ Read More]
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