By Eliezer Sobel | Website
There is much talk on Serene Ambition and elsewhere about
altering one’s perspective and internal conversation about aging so as
to “create a future to live into” that infuses the present with passion
and energy, as distinct from the dreary resignation of merely playing
out the repetitive and predictable habits and tendencies generated by
the past. And yet, while this sounds good in theory, what of the physical limitations imposed by age?
[ Read More]
Written by admin at Fearless Aging
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
I
just saw the movie WALL-E about a lonely robot on planet earth 700
years after a Wal-Mart-like enterprise wins the game of mega mergers
and is the only corporation left, effectively running the world. The
people had to leave because they couldn’t keep up with the trash.
WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth Class) spends its days (we
soon begin to think of it as a ‘he’ thanks to some brilliant scripting
and Pixar magic) creating skyscraper-scale mountains of trash. It is a
great film and brilliantly delivers ‘social responsibility’ messages
while telling a beautiful love story that meshes with some profoundly
human moments when people wake up to the possibility of having a choice
combined with responsibility for cleaning up the mess we made in the
20th and 21st centuries.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
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commitment
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relationship
unreasonable
worldview
 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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I spent a good chunk of my life learning to be reasonable. In business,
the mantra for any proposal was always: “Is it practical?” It seemed to
me that reasonableness (and its sister practicality) were virtues.
People who were unreasonable or impractical seemed to be
exceptions—they came across as flaky, dangerous, occasionally lucky,
unpredictable, disconnected, loose canons and, above all, they weren't
team players. When I turned 50, I came upon a quotation by George
Bernard Shaw that hit me between the eyes and totally changed my
approach to life and, in particular, my future.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
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possibility
practicality
reasonableness
Bill Plotkin's latest book, Nature and the Human Soul, offers a
model for human development rooted in the natural world. Calling on the
stories of elders Thomas Berry and Joanna Macy, Plotkin
evokes a strong sense of a lack of maturity in a culture dominated by
adolescent desires and habits. In this book, this pyschologist, ecotherapist and wilderness guide
defines eight stages of life--Innocent, Explorer, Thespian, Wanderer,
Soul Apprentice, Artisan, Master and Sage. Plotkin leads the reader to
the possibility of a society that is sustainable, cooperative and
compassionate through personal and collective evolution. His strategy
for living calls for our evolution into adulthood so that we mayachieve enduring societal change. A challenging read for elders of any age who are interested in a better world.
[ Read More]
Written by admin at News
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I saw a documentary film last night entitled, “Transformation: The Life
and Legacy of Werner Erhard”. I had heard a lot about it from many
friends who shared some of the ‘heady’ experience of working with him
in the 70s and 80s. The film was a very well done tribute to his work
and to the man I knew. I had expected that the film’s purpose was to restore his reputation
after his departure from the USA following a controversial ‘character
assassination’ piece on CBS’s 60 Minutes. I was pleased that
its focus was more on his work and the broad contribution that he has
made in so many areas of contemporary culture.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Wisdom in Action
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est
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Life happens while we are having conversations with ourselves and other people. Not learning from others may have a lot to do with not truly
‘listening’ to what others say. Listening is the context that makes
life intelligible, allows anything to have meaning, and forms the basis
for all communication (both written and spoken). It is a whole lot more
than just ‘hearing’ the words that are spoken. I’m always listening,
always bringing a prior interpretation or understanding of my world to
every situation I encounter or can imagine encountering. This is the most basic aspect of being a human being I know.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Learning
Tagged with:
being
commitment
ego
learning
listening
possibility
resistance
wisdom
I am more than happy to see Obama back on his game and in what looks
like the homestretch in what has been a grueling horserace—for the
candidates and the public. I am committed to Obama because I believe,
along with a lot of other people, that he is sincere in his commitment
to unite the nation and that he has demonstrated his capacity to stand
for something beyond politics-as-usual. I have said on more than one
occasion how sad it's been to watch the fracture of our nation and our
communities in the wake of the "neo-conservative" tide and President
Bush's consistent and constant disregard for any policy or initiative
other than what benefits corporate business interests. Now we have a candidate who speaks with eloquence and passion FOR something more than power and money.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Leadership
Tagged with:
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obama
possibility
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 By Shae Hadden | Bio
It’s so easy to get ‘comfortable’ with the circumstances of our
lives—even when they are uncomfortable or when we can see that they may
very likely lead to discomfort. It’s almost natural, sometimes even
expected, that we complain about what’s ‘not right’ or ‘not perfect’ in
our lives. But complaining (to ourselves or others) doesn’t change
anything and we’re left ‘adapting’ ourselves to living with whatever is
contributing to our discomfort.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Leadership
Tagged with:
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I was writing recently about how I am feeling great about getting older
and how, in fact, my life seems better than ever. While I was sharing
this with a friend recently I proclaimed, “I’m just a late bloomer.” I
don’t think I am unique or alone in finding that my sixties have been
an extraordinary time of my life, perhaps the best time I can remember. I am always a little concerned when I hear about ‘Zoomers’ or slogans
like “The 60s are the new 40s”. These kinds of interpretations always
seem to me about resisting getting older, rather than celebrating the
fact.[ Read More]
Written by admin at Fearless Aging
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