 By Jim Selman | Bio
I
have said many times that I view one of the biggest threats to our way
of life (and at least the medium-term future) is widespread and
institutionalized resignation. Resignation is a mood
that most of us have experienced and many are experiencing today. It is
a worldview devoid of possibility. It is the perspective that ‘nothing
can be done’ and ‘nothing will really make a difference’. It is giving
up, but in a way that justifies and rationalizes that giving up is the
rational and reasonable thing to do. The benefit of resignation is that
we can stop thinking or struggling.[ Read More]
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By Irene Noble
My mother, my friend,
died when she was 91. I miss her still, yet it was eighteen years ago.
She was a beautiful, elegant, stylish lady. More than that, she was
forgiving, uncomplicated by her total honesty, always willing to learn
new ways, new directions even though it might require a reversal of old
assumptions.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Fearless Aging
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I don't think that age is personal. I know it feels like it is 'me'
that is getting older, but I don't experience myself as older. If
anything, I experience my 'self' as being 'better' than at any time I
can remember over the past 66 years. I feel more 'alive', more engaged,
more present and more satisfied than ever. It is true that my body
can’t run, wrestle or climb as easily as in the past. I make love more
often than in the best moments of my youth and, best of all, I am
experienced enough to enjoy it more. While age is always relative, I
can't really think of anything about being my age that isn't wonderful.
Moreover, I am looking forward to every day being the best yet.[ Read More]
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I was talking with a fellow recently who was asking why this blog is
called Serene Ambition™. He thought that the two words didn't seem to
go together. He could get 'serenity' and also understand 'ambition',
but together they made no sense to him. In our normal way of relating
to the world, you can have serenity (meaning inner peace, calmness,
maybe even joy) or you can be ambitious (meaning committed to creating
or accomplishing something in the future)—but not both together. In some ways, we might say these two terms label the best of East and West.
[ Read More]
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If I could give one gift to my children, I think it would be
“acceptance”. It isn’t too hard to understand intellectually that we
should simply accept life on life’s terms and not try to control what
we can’t really control. Yet, it’s a hard lesson to learn. I think not
accepting may be the source of most, if not all, suffering. When we
live with the view that reality ‘should be’ other than it is, we are
living in a dream (at best) and a state of self-deception and denial
(at worst). Not accepting throws us into a relationship with the world
in which we must either control our environment or cope with
circumstances we consider beyond our control.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Wisdom in Action
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Moods are central to our lives. There isn’t a time when we are not in
one mood or another. For most of us, our moods are organizing how we
feel, what we do and how we explain just about everything to ourselves
most of the time. For example, can you remember the last time you said,
“I am happy” or “I am unhappy” without following the statement with
“because”? No, we always have a story for why we are in whatever mood
we’re in—whether it is a good one or a bad one.[ Read More]
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Well, it happened again. I was mugged and robbed on the street in
Buenos Aires—this time at 7:45 in the morning while walking on a major
thoroughfare. I am normally pretty vigilant at night. This time, I
stopped to window shop and before I knew it I was on the ground and the
guy had pulled my wallet from my front pocket. I instinctively tried to
kick him from the ground as he leaped over me and started running down
Avenida Florida, which is a wide pedestrian boulevard. The next thing I
know I am sprinting after him shouting “PARED, PARED, PARED” which
means "STOP!".[ Read More]
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It seems to me that we spend an inordinate amount of time thinking
about what we want in our lives. Last week I was working with a group
of people—mostly in their forties—and they shared that this was the
prevailing question in their lives. It got me thinking that this is the
question for all ages. At 65 I still ask it, although with less of a
need for an answer than at other times in my life. What do I want? Simple enough question, but one that we seemingly don’t
answer or we wouldn’t keep asking it throughout our lives.[ Read More]
Written by Jim Selman at Personal Empowerment
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About 3 hours until the ball drops and we all sing Auld Lang Seins
and kiss someone close to us. This year had an early dinner, shared
resolutions and went through the ritual of ‘completing’ 2006. I notice
that staying up until midnight somehow isn’t what it used to be.
Nonetheless, this is a special day no matter how cavalier I may be
about it. Every culture seems to have a New Year. I suppose if you are
Jewish and Chinese, you could have three New Year celebrations. I
wonder if all cultures emphasize completing the past and creating the
future as the main point to the process?[ Read More]
Written by Jim Selman at Wisdom in Action
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By Lilly Page
I was watching Oprah recently, a program featuring a few of our
famous stars speaking on aging. They were talking about this whole idea
of what your real age is. One was only 50, so just a baby to
me, the other was 65 and didn’t look more than 55, but the one that
caught my eye was Diahann Carol at 71 years old. Yikes, she looked
fabulous!!!! I
have always been one to mention my age, as I have always enjoyed
getting older. I intentionally want to give people younger than I am
something to look forward to. So I share my journey with them, whenever
it’s appropriate. [ Read More]
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