 By Jim Selman | Bio
It was said that
the philosopher Martin Heidegger’s last words were “Only God can save
us.” He was, perhaps, one of the deeper thinkers (at least in modern
times) on the question of who we are and what is really going on. As
far as I know, he wasn’t religious. So what he meant by these words, if
indeed he said them, is open to question. My view is that he was
talking about the fact that all human beings live in interpretations of
“reality”—cultural and linguistic inventions—and that humanity is now
‘trapped’ in an interpretation that has no back door. That is, the
‘Cartesian’ worldview that now dominates the globe is so powerful that,
like a black hole,[ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
Tagged with:
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 By Kevin Brown | Bio
This
week I have been having discussions with several of my friends and
business associates concerning the apparent absence of choice as we are
nearing retirement. It seems that for some people, there appears to be
no choice but to remain with their current employer in a job they no
longer find satisfaction in due to an anticipated financial loss
associated with pension and health benefits. For many, this realization
has them feeling like they have no choice in the matter. I have also noticed a similar view[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
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By Jim Selman | Bio
I
think that one of the things going on these days is that ‘Baby Boomers’
are waking up to the fact that they have a choice about how they age
and what it means to be old. The Boomer label is just a demographic
slogan. Personally, I don’t like being lumped into a single category
with 70 million other folks. This sociological category of “Baby
Boomer” (which is now almost synonymous with growing older) makes it
easy for us to slip into generalizations about age and aging,
generalizations that have been here for generations. Even when we
attempt to show how Boomers aren’t like other generations, we are
subtly reinforcing a profoundly negative and disempowering stereotype
of what it means to grow older.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
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By Jim Selman | Bio
Forty-five
years ago Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the
message”. I wonder what he would have made of today’s
media-on-steroids. Someone sent me a fascinating YouTube piece called “ Social Media in Plain English” , which was followed up with a dramatic piece on the extraordinary impact of all that is going on in the Social Media Revolution.
It includes a new term I had never seen before: socialnomics. It’s
getting easier and easier to feel ignorant and out of touch. The
general consensus is that the phenomenon of social networking/social
media is as potentially revolutionary as the Industrial Revolution.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Learning
Tagged with:
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By Kevin Brown | Bio
Have you noticed lately the impact that Boomers continue to have on the
world as we know it? Yes, the 'Net Generation' is beginning to have a
growing influence on our world and the way we interact with everyone in
it. But the Boomers are not retiring or withdrawing from being in
action on the field like their parents' generation did before them. No,
the Boomers are choosing to remain in the game and to impact how life
occurs for them and for everyone else. The question is, “Is this a
selfish act by Boomers or one of generosity and possibility?” Boomers
(those born between the mid 40s and the mid 60s) have been the agents
of change for most of their adult life. Whether challenging dress
codes, music preferences, the Vietnam War, or the status quo, Boomers
were and continue to be all about change. Of course, if change means
upsetting established norms, then Boomers are likely to be found
leading the parade. One can see their impact on each and every decade
for the last fifty years. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Join discussion COMMENTS [1]
Tagged with:
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By Shae Hadden | Bio
Friends and
family have been stressing the importance of taking vacations with me
for years. I have somewhat deliberately avoided the conversation as
much as possible until now. End result: a lifetime of little travel,
lots of work and limited 'fun'.All work and no play makes for a dull life. I've been beginning to wonder if perhaps[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
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travel
vacation
 By Sharon Knoll | Bio
Cooking with my daughter, Krista, is bliss. We were making Crabby Crabcakes, an incredible recipe from Mark Bittman at the NY Times.
They were 99% crab with a little bit of stuff we purchased at the Queen
Anne Farmers Market to hold them together: brand new potatoes baked
with olive oil and rosemary, and sautéed summer squash and caramelized
onions with herbs. (Can you stand it? Are you ready to rush out and
cook and enjoy the wonderful tastes of fresh grown great food?) Our cooking together is like a dance—an intensive information and learning exchange.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
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By Jim Selman | Bio
Regina Brett of Cleveland, OH shared her top life lessons when she turned 90:
-
Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
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By Jim Selman | Bio
Future
historians may mark the first decade of the 21st century as the time
when democracy died. And if they do, they will say that democracy died
because people became so resigned and afraid that they retreated into
closed and cloistered communities motivated by self-interest,
ideological fervor and ignorance. History will note that what began as
honest differences grew into an irreconcilable fragmentation of the
body politic.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
Join discussion COMMENTS [3]
Tagged with:
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By Kevin Brown | Bio
Increasingly I find myself thinking about the word
retirement and whether it has the appeal that it once had for the mature
worker. I remember, as if it were yesterday, my father talking about how he was
looking forward to retirement. After working long hours and raising a family,
there just did not seem much time for anything else. Through much of his
mid-life, my dad's job (conductor for the railroad) had him working away from
home and on the road during the week. Weekends were mostly reserved for rest
before returning to the job the following Monday. Often he would share how he
looked forward to being able to spend time doing the things he really wanted to
do. I just assumed that meant golfing and fishing simply because those are
about the only leisure activities that I remember my dad enjoying.
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Retirement
Join discussion COMMENTS [1]
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