 By Jim Selman | Bio
As many of you know, I view aging, and the rest of life for that
matter, as a series of conversations. In my work, I try to show people
that if we can observe ourselves and our world through the lens of
language, we can see that everything we think and experience occurs in
the context of some interpretation or another. For most people most of
the time, our interpretation is that there is a ‘real world’ out there,
and if we could only understand it and control it (and ourselves), then
we’d be okay and win whatever game we’re playing. Of course, in this interpretation (called the Cartesian paradigm),
people (that means us) are objects and our conversation about aging is
basically that we wear out like our cars and eventually aren’t useful
any longer.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Fearless Aging
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 By Shae Hadden | Bio
I’ve been thinking about how we define success, and observing how
serene people become when they feel ‘successful’. For most of my life,
I’ve focused my thinking on achieving the traditional symbols of
success: significant recognition, meaningful associations with
particular people, my own home, specific possessions. Something shifted
in me a few years ago when I realized none of these ‘mean’ anything
when we reach the end of our journey. They hold only peripheral
interest for me now.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Personal Empowerment
Tagged with:
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I am on the road again. I’ve just spent two weeks in Mexico: one week
with my son Clarke, and the other working at what must be one of the
most fantastic meeting sites I have ever encountered. It is called the Hacienda San Gabriel de las Palmas. Built in 1529, it
is easy to imagine Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors riding up the
roadway. There are lots of ruins on the grounds and the meeting room
was in what appears to be an old barn or storehouse with curved
ceilings and antiques all around. My visit with Clarke was outstanding—lots of good conversation.[ Read More]
Written by Jim Selman at Leadership
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By Shae Hadden
Bio
Further musings on empowerment today… When I worked for a public service agency, I used to think that I was responsible for certain results, but I never felt ‘empowered’. I equated being empowered with having the boundaries removed that seemed to stand between me and getting the job done. I remember one instance in which there was an immediate and urgent need to provide a client with resources (which would impact a budget over which I had no authority). Without the ‘power’ to commit to this expenditure, I felt helpless, stuck within a system that had imposed very clear limits to my authority. [ Read More]
Written by admin at Personal Empowerment
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I was speaking with a friend today about how we sometimes feel
‘disempowered’ in certain situations where people repeat their patterns
of the past and where we have no ‘accountability’ for the outcome. I
realized as we were talking that we generally look at ‘being empowered’
as a solution in our careers and personal lives—as the pathway to the
promised land that will deliver us from whatever circumstances are
challenging us in the moment. When we see teams of people creating new
possibilities and managing themselves to solve their own problems,
we’re seeing people who have empowered themselves moving in action.[ Read More]
Written by Shae Hadden at Personal Empowerment
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By Shae Hadden
Bio
On Conversation Street, there are no age limits, and traffic can flow in both directions simultaneously.
Musing on intergenerational
conversations today. I’ve always been drawn to talk with people older
than myself. Perhaps this is because I’ve never felt comfortable with
my peers. I could blame it on the educational system (I was thrust
ahead of my age group in school to keep me interested in learning and
never really got to socialize with my kids my own age)…or on my own
shortcomings (I just didn’t know what to share with them in a social
setting). My peers all seemed so much more self-assured than I, so
confident about their way of seeing things. And I was just full of
unanswerable questions and endless insecurities. I found it easier to
chat with my next door neighbor’s grandfather instead of playing in the
sandbox… [ Read More]
Written by admin at Wisdom in Action
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 Happy IDOP everyone! Oh, you didn’t know that the United Nations
implemented October 1st as the International Day of Older Persons 16
years ago? Well, it’s true. Lots of information available online about
the UN Program on Ageing. The opening remark by the Secretary General pretty well sums up what it is all about. "I am only one of 600 million persons in the world over the age of
60. As people across the globe come to live increasingly longer lives,
our entire human family has a stake in encouraging and easing a
productive, active and healthy ageing process. The whole world stands
to gain from an empowered older generation, with the potential to make
tremendous contributions to the development process and to the work of
building more productive, peaceful and sustainable societies." [ Read More]
Written by Jim Selman at Wisdom in Action
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