 By Jim Selman | Bio
As we watch the devastation in Haiti on
television, the world recoils at the horror and the suffering,
mobilizes its resources and tries to clean up the mess and help the
survivors. The media forages, looking for who to blame (usually corrupt
or incompetent politicians). We’ve witnessed this scene following
earthquakes countless times: in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake 2008 when
69,000 died in China; in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake when 230,000
died in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand; in the 2005 Kashmir
earthquake where 86,000 died in Pakistan; in the 1923 Great Kanto
earthquake when 142,800 died in Japan; and even in 1908’s Messina
earthquake when 100,000 died in Italy. If we think about the
hurricanes, volcanoes, fires, tsunamis and famine, it seems the “Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse” are doing a fabulous business these days.
The fact is[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Learning
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By Jim Selman | Bio
Here we are at the beginning of another
new year. All the “Happy New Year” greetings are fading and we all seem
to be digging in for the coming months. We seem to ebb and flow with a
kind of seasonal ‘mood swing’ and now, in the middle of winter, are
beginning to get down to business. In general, most of us start a new
year being optimistic—filled with resolution(s), ready to put the
mistakes from 2009 behind us and eager to take on the world or
ourselves or whatever it is we think needs to happen for 2010 to be the
‘best year ever’. The fact is the world is in pretty much the same
place it was before the holidays: we just took a break from all of our
‘earnestness’, planning and efforts to survive for a few weeks. Being pessimistic or optimistic is an attitude
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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By Stuart James Whitley | Bio
Continuing on from yesterday's post....
2. Be patient
As the Biblical injunction provides, all things good come to those who
wait. This precondition for good temperament has two elements to it:
time and wisdom. Part of wisdom is the understanding that
active listening is a form of generosity, a key element in a mature
temperament. Waiting for the other point of view, the various possible
perspectives, or even the depletion of emotion, takes discipline.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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 By Rick Fullerton | Bio
While I don’t have any quick fixes to offer, here are a few ideas that may have potential:
1. As within, so without. All change begins with me.
Recognize that who we are and what we stand for is the starting
point for all significant change. Looking inside ourselves to clarify
what is important is an essential step. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
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 By Kevin Brown | Bio
Recently I was reading a blog post by Paul Span and the associated stream of comments in the New York Times concerning
the use of contracts between a family member providing care, a family
member receiving care, and other family members. I must say that
initially I found the idea of a contract somewhat disturbing. I realize
that the idea bothers me because I hold the view that a family
caregiver should be approaching caregiving out of a sense of
responsibility, love and compassion. Imagine if our parents could have
entered into a contract for parenting in which their time invested was
logged and at some future point we (the children) would have to pay our
parents for their time and out-of-pocket expenses. Silly, you might
suggest, because our parents [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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By Kevin Brown | Bio
In
last week's post, I discussed how care for family Caregivers,
especially when the provision of care occurs over prolonged periods,
can leave the Caregiver drained of energy and in need of care
themselves. I noted that Caregivers should endeavor to maintain their
own health, keep up their social network, stay involved with family and
share the caregiving. One gentlemen responded with[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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By Kevin Brown | Bio
In
last week’s post, I defined a Caregiver as “any individual who
willingly gives of themselves to improve the quality of life for
another individual.” There are times when the responsibility of
providing care weighs heavy upon Caregivers. When this giving of self,
especially when it occurs over prolonged periods, leaves the Caregiver
drained of energy and in need of care themselves, it is time to take a
step back and look at what one’s own needs are.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Join discussion COMMENTS [2]
Tagged with:
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By Jim Selman | Bio
There was a wonderful article in USA Today
by our new First Lady extolling the importance of ‘youthful idealism’
in these uncertain times. I couldn’t agree with her more and am happy
to see her taking on this kind of generational motivation as part of
her platform on behalf of the new Administration. Her call brings to
mind JFK’s challenge to our generation: “Ask not what your country can
do for you, but what you can do for your country”. This appeal to our
higher selves and the innate desire to contribute is[ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
Tagged with:
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By Jim Selman | Bio
CNN.com and the other media are all reporting today the Obama administration's and Eric Holder's decision
not to prosecute CIA and other intelligence officials for participation
in torture that was authorized by officials in the Bush Administration
and the Department of Justice. Amnesty International and other human
rights organizations are crying for blood, claiming that torture is
against the law regardless of by whom, when and under what
circumstances it was authorized. It seems to me that there are two questions here.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
Russell Bishop’s posting about ‘ The Blame Game’ is right on the money. He uses the term “responsibility” as meaning the ability to respond —literally “response – ability”. I share his definition and am always asking people to see that responsibility has nothing to do with causality (as in who did it or who will do it). Responsibility is a relationship to the circumstances, a way of being—a declaration that we always have a choice. Anything we’re not responsible for, we are a victim of.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
Tagged with:
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