tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12753005969080128932012-01-18T09:03:03.068-08:00The Intentional Aging CollectiveJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.comBlogger1241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-90435932996018672172012-01-15T10:49:00.000-08:002012-01-15T10:51:35.415-08:00Reaching Out
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I often hear people my age and even younger lament that being young in this society is easy. And being older is David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-37050608074315164752011-12-26T10:12:00.000-08:002011-12-30T09:40:10.460-08:00New Year's Wish
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The David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-20635736089374082572011-10-20T21:13:00.000-07:002011-10-20T21:20:24.638-07:00Speed and Pace In Life
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The modern world is filled with instant access to anything and anyone at any time and pressure to multi-task and produceDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-29270668877903810072011-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:002011-09-24T06:00:02.903-07:00What is an Elder - Part III found this quote in a recent article by Michael Meade. I offer it here as a piece to contemplate and maybe as inspiration. Thanks to Ken Pyburn for sending the article.
"An old idea suggests that the only ones more idealistic than young people are the elders. It’s not that the elders naively believe that the great ideals of humanity, peace and justice, healing and compassion, are simply David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-36956215333007693952011-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:002011-09-14T06:00:17.488-07:00Mature Conversation About Aging
I continue to be amazed by the level of excitement and interest generated by a good question. In my coaching practice and in the classroom I use questions to provoke discussion or thinking outside the box. But not until recently have I become aware that I too have a need for discuaaion and conversation and sharing of wisdom around topics related to my own aging process.
Depending on the David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-88195342004268093262011-09-07T10:22:00.000-07:002011-09-07T10:22:33.309-07:00Can We Broaden the Discussion, Please?
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The Elder Corps
Background:
Psychologists believe that the aging process naturally brings out a strong desire for David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-323324193139262092011-05-13T11:39:00.000-07:002011-05-13T11:39:34.153-07:00URBAN LEGENDS ABOUT AGING<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]>
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Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-74944249453110796812011-04-14T11:07:00.000-07:002011-04-14T11:07:34.899-07:00Pause, Reflect, Recommit<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
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mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4ptJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-40126410645047784552011-04-05T21:06:00.000-07:002011-04-05T21:06:05.343-07:00contemplating cronehood<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]>
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Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-82268129594277589732011-03-24T12:31:00.000-07:002011-03-24T12:31:32.256-07:00Priviledge Of Being Alive
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I am lying on my back in my sleeping bag woken from a sound sleep by the imperceptible presence of something outside David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-825965236070314142011-03-21T11:54:00.000-07:002011-03-21T11:54:06.657-07:00No-sense<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
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mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4ptJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-68701316797054409282011-03-12T19:56:00.000-08:002011-03-14T12:42:09.638-07:00Do you know what I mean?-I-
All week, I’ve been haunted by a particular line from Stanley Kunitz’s poem “The Layers,” and by my friend Sara, who died in November of 2006. I’ll save my story of Sara for another time.
The line from Kunitz captures the question that seems to be at the center of everything that’s happened this past week: “How shall the heart be reconciled to its feast of losses?”[1]
Change and loss; every Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-11468348611881059022011-03-07T09:56:00.000-08:002011-03-07T09:56:09.951-08:00One foot on the earth, one foot in the stars<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]>
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Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-26626527761039499392011-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:002011-03-01T09:59:55.142-08:00Honey, Where's My Wallet?
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If my mind is anything close to normal it is remarkable that as part of my memory declines, part improves.
I can David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-31410069928763667712011-02-24T18:59:00.000-08:002011-02-24T18:59:55.985-08:00Gero-punk Lexicon, installment four<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
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mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4ptJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-2944271767274989032011-02-23T14:46:00.000-08:002011-02-23T14:46:19.848-08:00Gero-punk Lexicon, installment threeThe Gero-punk Lexicon: Installment 3
Welcome to the third installment of a work-in-progress, the “Gero-punk Lexicon.” In case you are new to the Lexicon, let me tell you a thing or two:
You probably think you know what a lexicon is (a collection of words and their definitions, usually in alphabetical order, but since this lexicon in a work-in-progress and totally gero-punk, it will be in any Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-17548293252433045272011-02-22T09:26:00.000-08:002011-02-22T12:07:37.802-08:00Changes to BlogAs you can tell we are updating the Intentional Aging Collective to make the content richer and more informative. Like any community that is growing we are changing to be more responsive to our mission and you the reader. This is an ongoing process that we hope will continue to offer unique and thought provoking topics about this thing we call "Aging".
Eventually we will be adding photos, David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-88946799887292186252011-02-13T14:33:00.000-08:002011-02-15T12:38:50.142-08:00Gero-punk Lexicon, installment twoChampion for aging (A provisional Manifesto)
Provisional definition:
What does it mean to be a “Champion for aging”? Here are some of the central principles that, for me, come to mind. To be a Champion for Aging is:
One: To insist that aging is so much more than the number of years lived on this planet, but, more interestingly, it is the accumulation of life experiences, the nuancing of our Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-17851036428479898052011-02-12T18:45:00.000-08:002011-02-15T12:30:39.929-08:00The Gero-Punk Lexicon, installment one
Welcome to the first installment of a new work-in-progress, the “Gero-punk Lexicon.” You probably think you know what a lexicon is (a collection of words and their definitions, usually in alphabetical order, but since this lexicon in a work-in-progress and totally gero-punk, it will be in any order I please. So there.). But you definitely don’t know what a gero-punk is, and neither do I, becauseJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-30630110263147891452011-02-04T13:58:00.000-08:002011-02-04T13:58:32.292-08:00Mid-point: Installment One<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]>
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Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-43693585953073072362011-02-03T10:39:00.000-08:002011-02-03T10:41:50.222-08:00Gramma JewellIf there is a single human being who is responsible for priming me to become a Gerontologist, it is my maternal Gramma—Jewell Cochran. My Gramma comes from poor, scrappy folk. No one knew who her father was and she grew up without much stability. After her teenage mother abandoned her she was fostered by various family members until her late teens when she left her people in the Yakima Valley to Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-38627868119201735592011-01-28T10:29:00.000-08:002011-02-03T10:36:01.073-08:00Still in the starsStill in the stars
Six Canada Geese descendtoward the water, arcing slightly to the left, with perfect velocity, precise angles. They glide on outstretched wings, only micro-adjustments of feathered-bodies-in-space.
Witnessing, held, I holdmy breath. I am on an airplanedescending toward the tarmac: gutgoing two directions, dropping downand churning, my heart fleeing into my throat,in a prayer Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-80525241831698848522011-01-25T18:19:00.000-08:002011-01-25T18:19:37.402-08:00Yearning and Remembering<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
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mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4ptJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-28209845077342111752011-01-20T18:01:00.000-08:002011-01-24T10:59:25.510-08:00New Year's MusingsI really love each new year. Because it is, well... NEW!! Like a blank slate. I get to fill it with something that I hope is meaningful, fun and purposeful. I don't always receive what I expected is always insightful. With that, here is something I have been thinking about for a while.
To age intentionally we must first be courageous enough to let our true self out in to the world. To do David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-14172547667829183932010-12-07T12:27:00.000-08:002010-12-11T02:07:10.564-08:00Books, Regret and The FutureThere's a pile of fifteen books next to my bed. I'm not at all sure why I store them there. Except for the two which I read before I go to sleep most nights the others just gather dust. A couple of times a year they get moved around, cleaned, sorted, prioritized and then re-stacked, but never read. The "stack" is bothering me.
Included in the stack are books on meditation, jazz, mythology, David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-23203170411612226722010-11-30T16:58:00.000-08:002010-11-30T16:58:28.067-08:00Contemplative GerontologyWe tried a contemplative exercise on age identity in my Embodiment in Later Life seminar a few weeks ago.
I asked students to stand in front of their desks in a circle.
Then to be still, eyes closed, feet firmly planted on the earth but body as relaxed as possible.
Then, in an unforced way, to begin breathing, sending their breaths down into their bellies and then gently back up through their Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-51744343610957640202010-11-26T10:16:00.000-08:002010-11-26T10:16:52.853-08:00Never Spiritually UnemployedWould you agree that being employed is important? A job/career certainly gives us the legal tender to engage in the economic workings of our culture and it defines some of us as well. It also provides a sense of community and self-esteem. But what happens when we lose a job or choose to retire or leave a career? Do we lose a sense of ourselves or can we fall back on strong underpinnings of a David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-30499484547216118772010-11-19T20:48:00.000-08:002010-11-19T20:48:58.145-08:00Apricot upside-down cake (best eaten with your toes)Tomorrow, November 20th, 2010, is my friend Ginny’s 90th birthday. I discovered this fact two Wednesdays ago when I was conducting my last collaborative inquiry session for this year at Mary’s Woods, a continuing care retirement community. I read “A Legacy Tale: Part 3,” which felt like a keenly appropriate choice for our last session together, given that in it I tell the story of my friend FredJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-73768418644047834682010-11-18T18:37:00.000-08:002010-11-18T18:37:21.663-08:00Silver Shooting StarsThere’s a poem by Kathian Poulton that I’ve loved for some time. I offer it to students on the first day of the Embodiment in Later Life course I teach every fall. Here’s the poem:
Though not occasioned
to mirror watching
I stopped
and saw delightedly
star streaks, grey lights
moving through my hair.
I was mother-reflection
then, my mother watching me
becoming old as she had not
lived to do.
Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-90693820740650697872010-11-11T20:06:00.000-08:002010-11-11T20:16:16.503-08:00Sweetness of TimeLately I am feeling like the future is a very sweet ingredient of getting older. I must admit though that I don't have that feeling every day and I am still learning how to accept this new feeling.
It's like the future is no longer something that is "later". It has an urgency that I have not experienced before. In fact it seems so present to me that it is shouting and maybe even a little David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-62016698079892043002010-11-08T09:45:00.000-08:002010-11-08T09:45:59.145-08:00A Legacy Tale, part threeFred’s car is still in his driveway and seeing it there still catches me by surprise. As I am coasting down the street, heading home at the end of the day, or when I am backing out of my own driveway on my way out some where, I see his little car – old maroon Honda Civic – and my heart leaps and I think, “Oh, great! Fred’s home!” In the next moment, I remember that Fred is no longer here in hisJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-43465039369073661132010-11-01T09:58:00.000-07:002010-11-01T10:07:46.803-07:00Resources for Intentional AgersThis is an exciting time as the interest in topics related to aging has never been greater or more dynamic. New books, web sites, newsletters and blogs are created every day. If you have resources related to intentional aging that you wish to share, please offer it here.
Here are two items worth a look:
Positive Aging Conference in December
The 4th National Positive Aging Conference will David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-18811633827652778082010-10-25T20:30:00.000-07:002010-10-25T20:30:47.041-07:00Spirituality and the Ageless Questions: A seriesJust a heads-up that there is a 3 part discussion series starting tomorrow (Tuesday Oct. 26th; 5:30 to 7:30 PM) on spirituality and aging. There is no cost.
The topic for the first session is Finding Meaning and Purpose
November 9th will focus on Learning From Faith Traditions and Secular Perspectives
December 2nd will focus on Contemplation, Action and Community
Featured speakers/David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-29066437886698856692010-10-25T19:22:00.000-07:002010-10-25T19:22:45.813-07:00Four weeks later.It has been almost four weeks since Dr. Mary Catherine Bateson came to Marylhurst University to give a presentation on her latest book, Composing a further life: The age of active wisdom. Almost four weeks, and some of us are still talking about her presentation. Like fans reliving a rock concert, we remind each other of especially powerful ideas she offered us, paraphrasing her phrases as Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-90571500986228026072010-10-23T22:57:00.000-07:002010-10-23T22:57:12.538-07:00Lessons from the Sage-ing Guild ConferenceOne hunded people came together a week ago at the annual conference of the Sage-ing Guild to celebrate the conscious aging and spiritual eldering work of Rabbi Schacter-Shalomi and to share life experience and learn from and be inspired by others. There are several things I took away from the conference that I would like to share with you in the next few posts.
What is it to be be a "wise sageDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-91245916028600732682010-10-23T11:38:00.000-07:002010-10-23T11:38:03.783-07:00Merci, Alain!Well, I guess you know that the situation in France is out-of-hand when Lady Gaga, or should I say "Madame Gaga," cancels her Paris concerts. Perhaps in solidarity with the multitudes of people across the age spectrum protesting President Sarkozy's attempts at major pension reforms, but for certain because, in addition to cross-generational protests, there have been ongoing country-wide strikes,Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-7847427053379693532010-10-16T14:57:00.000-07:002010-10-16T14:57:04.969-07:00What are you protesting?In France, high school students are marching alongside elders to protest changes in policies around retirement age. Can you imagine such a thing happening in the U.S.? We have heard that current young people "lack confidence" in the future of Social Security, but I can tell you that when I moderated a community conversation about Social Security privitization a few years ago (when Bush Jr. was Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-3941022092224896512010-10-12T17:53:00.000-07:002010-10-12T17:53:43.011-07:00When in doubt, bake a cake.I am reflecting upon the phone conversation I had with a colleague, on speaker phone while I drove from campus to my neighborhood this afternoon. I had asked him to call me because I have been quite distressed – profoundly distressed, actually – about an ongoing difficult situation in my professional life which has recently intensified. Part of the intensity is that I really care about the Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-62229812273848204272010-10-08T09:48:00.000-07:002010-10-08T09:55:27.821-07:00Annual Sage-ing Guild ConferenceThe Annual Sage-ing Guild conference is next week in Loveland, Colorado from October 15th - 17th.
For those of you who are not aware, the Sage-ing Guild was founded in November 2004 to support and promote the philosophy of conscious aging described in the seminal book, From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older, by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ronald Miller. Rabbi David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-33841758948978219592010-08-26T09:14:00.000-07:002010-08-27T20:55:10.863-07:00A thimble-full of sakeYesterday, I made a quick stop at home after attending with Isobel her high school registration. As these things do, the registration event took twice as long as we anticipated, so I was running on the edge of lateness all morning. I dropped Izzy at her job at the rock climbing gym, then raced home so as to let Happy-dog out to do his business in the yard and to make myself a little lunch to Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-53570713381137596252010-08-19T17:34:00.000-07:002010-08-19T17:35:38.532-07:00Part Two: Fred's FigsI had intended to offer Fred’s figs as dessert at a picnic my friend Erica and I planned, so yesterday afternoon I headed into the garden, wandering past the zucchini, corn, and tomatoes, pausing periodically to check on the ripeness of various fruits and veggies, acknowledging the spent raspberries and close-to-finished potatoes to my left, anticipating the sweet perfection of Fred’s Figs. The Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-66953469374543625162010-08-13T12:00:00.000-07:002010-08-13T12:00:01.506-07:00The Age of Active WisdomI'm really thrilled to announce that the great Dr. Mary Catherine Bateson, daughter of anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead, will be coming to the Marylhurst campus! Save the date: Tuesday, September 28th, 7 to 9 p.m. in the Flavia Salon. She'll be discussing her latest book, COMPOSING A FURTHER LIFE: The Age of Active Wisdom.
This event is being co-sponsored by the Marylhurst Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-1105300080921787792010-08-12T12:29:00.000-07:002010-08-12T12:29:48.633-07:00Fred's Figs: A Legacy Tale, part oneI prepared myself to scramble up the tall, rickety wooden ladder. It’s been leaning against the ancient, grand fig tree since last summer. Fred left it there at the ready in order to gather the figs before the birds could steal them and the bugs could eat them from the inside-out. Fred, my old friend, the angel of our neighborhood, died this past February. Now, he’s back in the stars, but this isJenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-49337382433301121422010-07-20T10:50:00.000-07:002010-07-20T10:55:37.715-07:00Grumpiness and IrritabilityRecently I had a surprising existential moment and I am more than just a little embarrassed.
Call it anger, rage, fury or irritability but it came quickly and took over my entire body. Every organ and every cell of my body infected. I'm embarrassed because it is the exact opposite of how I was taught growing up and in the work-life. I was encouraged to be calm, patient and serene.
I'm told David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-13637749500518197932010-06-25T08:32:00.000-07:002010-06-25T10:50:00.334-07:00Life As A Spiritual PracticeWhen I get in to discussions of spirituality and aging I have been at a loss to find the words to explain my belief that my spiritual practice has more to do with being authentic than the amount of meditating, praying, etc I perform. For me, there is no more powerful feeling of connection to my higher power than living a purpose filled life that aligns with my values and passion.
I recently David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-5396817161400751392010-06-21T09:13:00.000-07:002010-06-21T09:13:43.418-07:00Human Development and AgingOur attitudes about longevity and aging mirror the conflicting montage of beliefs and ideas we have about the subject. This is wonderful, isn't it? Aging in the modern world is not just one thing or way of being it is many practices. There is no "right" way to age! But, perhaps there is one theme that will allow us to think about the aging process differently....Developmental Aging.
David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-11763972868565222832010-06-15T09:13:00.000-07:002010-06-15T09:13:44.002-07:00This One HurtsI couldn't take my gaze away from the images. The dense black cloud moving out and rising continuously. The tally meter shows more than fifty million gallons already released in to the Gulf of Mexico with no end in sight. Twenty gallons every second for what now is sixty days.
I have to wonder what recommendations a coastal fisherman would have made years ago when British Petroleum first wantedDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-71806536058163594072010-06-08T09:15:00.000-07:002010-06-08T14:03:34.576-07:00Does Gerontology Really Serve Us??Is the field of gerontology really serving humankind? Does it really assist us in understanding ourselves or the life process? Does it even study the important things about the aging process? I ask this because what I'm seeing is alarming.
With an apparent lust for all things related to the biology of aging we continue to get scholarly studies with a never ending array of facts about how we can David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-50483621872232540202010-05-27T17:08:00.000-07:002010-06-01T08:17:29.405-07:00CharacterMy friend Ken and I recently spent some quality time in my "church", the Metolius River in Central Oregon. These annual Spring trips or renewal have become a wonderful ritual for us.
This year we spent several hours in conversation about what it is to have "character". People with noble intentions are found everywhere, but people with a strong character seem to stand out from the crowd. They David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-30735053314674498942010-05-13T10:59:00.000-07:002010-05-13T15:58:03.992-07:00Of Witches and GoblinsLately, I've been reading stories. Fairy tales, mostly, as I prepare for a summer course I am facilitating.
Did you know that older men and women appear in almost every fairy tale, but they are usually minor characters. They are usually cast as the wicked or the evil or as the unbelievable good. Rarely do fairy tales cast the older person as a realistic main character.
Fairy tales make life aDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-6378520344333907962010-04-30T09:10:00.000-07:002010-05-01T08:07:27.806-07:00Reclaiming "Old""Old"! What a wonderful and contradictory word.
In most meanings it is different from aging. In fact it is generally a category all by itself separate from aging and the nearness of death. Isn't the thing we like most about old things is their ageless character? We are drawn to old tools, towns, whiskey, paintings, jewelry, hats and cars exactly because they seem timeless, the opposite of David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-8216963384472828072010-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:002010-04-26T13:20:24.890-07:00I'm Just Bored!I don't usually post a lot about personal things here. I have my reasons for that. Among them are two; self disclosure is awkward and, second, I grow increasing weary of people sharing everything with everybody through Facebook, and Twitter, and other electronic media (like this "Blog" :-))... but I am feeling compelled to share today. So please bare with me.
I am bored and feeling like a David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-8134883910616566082010-04-19T07:52:00.000-07:002010-04-22T12:23:37.830-07:00More On Living An Authentic LifeRecently I posted about the importance of being authentic or "real" in our lives as an expression of personal integrity. I would like to go a little deeper, at least as far as I understand it.
James Hillman puts forth the idea that integrity asks only that a person be what they truly are. According to Hillman, if you are a despot, or corrupt or sneaky then you exhibit integrity if you live life David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-74655032089427587312010-04-15T09:10:00.000-07:002010-04-16T10:47:36.626-07:00Authenticity and AgingThrough my coaching practice I often come in contact with men and women who are making the transition to retirement and the second half of life. They find their way to coaching because they feel like they want something different from the first half of their lives. Usually this is accompanied by a sense of urgency or longing the intensity of which unexpected and perhaps unsettling.
In the David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-57285575413974185522010-04-14T21:07:00.000-07:002010-04-14T21:07:12.520-07:00Gate 72 (twenty minutes or so)In a relatively short span of time, at Gate 72, awaiting the boarding of Flight 344 from San Francisco to Portland, I have several interesting experiences. I am wandering through the waiting area at Gate 72, looking for a place to sit – there are none to be found except upon the ground, as everyone without exception is sitting with at least one vacant seat (where they deposited their carry-on Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-29468407142788153952010-04-12T13:30:00.000-07:002010-04-12T13:48:03.741-07:00Longevity and CharacterIs aging necessary for the human condition? Since we all age, getting older is apparently built in to the human physiology yet extends beyond what we conventionally think of as the "productive" years. In fact, in spite of some people's efforts to the contrary, as we all know, aging goes beyond physical usefulness and even mental acuity. Why do we live as long as we do?
First of all I want to David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-20979018443568702722010-04-08T16:59:00.000-07:002010-04-08T16:59:50.589-07:00Creative As A RoseOne of my dearest friends, a healer, kinesiologist, and writer, has spent most of his adult life investigating the nature of human creativity as it impacts our sense of wellness. He has an analogy that I want to share with you about creativity and aging.
Each human being is like a rose bush. Every year until it dies the rose bush produces beautiful blooms, none of which are the same yet they David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-57459473905577264712010-04-03T10:00:00.000-07:002010-04-03T10:00:23.404-07:00"But I Don't Paint"I admit it, I'm biased! In fact I may even be a little blinded by a belief that everyone is, by nature, a creative being and that this creativity improves our health and wellness and general sense of joy and fulfillment throughout life.
The National Center for Creative Aging and others tout the benefits of art, music, and acting on health and brain function. The National Endowments on the ArtsDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-21044723302052914782010-03-29T12:57:00.000-07:002010-03-29T12:57:59.959-07:00Spirituality and PurposeOne of the things that inevitably happens as we age is that we think more about those that came before us. Some people think this is due to a drive to be closer to their wisdom and to find meaning for our lives while others believe it is a natural process as we move closer to the end of our life. Whatever the reason, there are great spiritual opportunities, here!
This is a time to get more in David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-83682561535602136432010-03-17T09:40:00.000-07:002010-03-17T09:40:00.562-07:00Grand Works Northwest Art FestivalGrand Works Northwest Art Festival is going to be an exciting full day of creative pursuits, investing in art and highlighting how creative activity supports the aging process. Guests will enjoy hands-on workshops, 50 artist booths, discussion groups, and live entertainment presented by honored elders.
This ground breaking event is being presented by The Geezer Gallery and Elders In Action. Amy David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-45068071307160983872010-03-15T07:41:00.000-07:002010-03-15T07:41:00.577-07:00Life Purpose as Antidote for IllnessExerpt from The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon
By Joe Rojas-Burke, The Oregonian
March 11, 2010
Having a sense of purpose in life seems to provide a shield against illness – particularly in old age.
In an ongoing study of healthy aging by Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, researchers used questionnaires to rate the sense of purpose in life among thousands of retirement-age women and men.David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-71122061167579278812010-03-13T09:02:00.000-08:002010-03-13T09:02:00.527-08:00Something to Think About"The older one gets, the more one feels that the present must be enjoyed; it is a precious gift, comparable to a state of grace" Scientist Marie Curie
What does it mean for you to really enjoy this moment?David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-62568372873188903982010-03-10T08:55:00.000-08:002010-03-11T08:06:12.774-08:00Creativity and LifeWhen I talk to groups about creativity in the second half of life I usually get at least one response that goes something like "Oh,no, I can't paint or write poetry or play music. I'm not creative." For me, that response is more cultural than real.
For the sake of argument, here is the definition of creativity I like to use: Creativity is a mental process involving the discovery of new ideas or David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-6869099214124405142010-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:002010-03-05T07:00:04.149-08:00What Do You Love?I am taken by the notion that we become what we love.
Wayne Muller says "When we do what we love, again and again, our life comes to hold the fragrance of that thing. When we hold something in our hands day after day, our hands conform to the shape of what we have held." (How, Then, Shall We Live?)
There are many things in life I did not have the ability to love. On the flip side, I have alsoDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-91955431128559385972010-03-02T07:00:00.000-08:002010-03-02T13:53:16.340-08:00Can you Be Ageless?Have you ever noticed the dynamic that goes on between a child and a grandparent or elder? It's like they have a special bond, a special knowing, a sense of what is really important in the world. I can't explain it but it seems like if a parent or other adult comes in to the room where an elder and child are engaged in anything together the adult becomes irrelevant, unnecessary and, in fact, a David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-22896519068633096862010-02-26T14:42:00.000-08:002010-02-26T14:42:18.144-08:00NewnessAging intentionally is a heady idea, isn't it? The thought that there is another way to relate to the aging process. The notion that as we age we can find newness in what will most likely be the last major period of our lives. What an opposite view from the thought that the only thing unknown is when and how it will come to an end.
According to Joan Chittister, "Growth in later life requires David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-32172319398286530322010-02-23T08:46:00.000-08:002010-02-23T08:47:35.896-08:00Where's the MysteryOur lives schedules and deadlines have a purpose, I guess. In some regards they keep us accountable to each other and to society. I think the problem with them is the power they have over our lives. They can become our life. And they can obstruct life, taking us away from what really matters.
The opposite is Mystery! Mystery is what happens when we allow life to evolve rather than having to David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-6245444235694314952010-02-16T08:20:00.000-08:002010-02-16T08:20:46.701-08:00"You look good....for your age!""She's looks good for her age!" and "He acts like he is twenty years younger!" How many of you have heard this or perhaps even said it? I recently caught myself saying something similar to a seventy five year old woman who appropriately shot back with "Well, honey, get used to it because this is what 75 looks like!"
The underlying concept in all this is, of course, that, as a culture, we have David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-90920954452225736372010-02-11T06:30:00.000-08:002010-02-11T06:30:00.792-08:00You're So Gray!One of my favorite anecdote comes from Ram Dass, the spiritual teacher, who tells of a time when he visited a friend who lived in a village in the Himalayas. "You're looking so old!" the man said to Ram Dass. "You're so gray!" At first Ram Dass reacted with a Westerner's typical horror. Calling someone "old" in America is like labeling that person as inferior and someone to be avoided. But inDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-81350692545313156402010-02-08T21:52:00.000-08:002010-02-09T09:58:33.971-08:00Experience or StodginessAs we age our personality becomes more deeply defined. Some might call this "character" while others degrade it as "rigidity". As a young man I realized that I liked creme brulee and scotch whiskey (just not together) and that I did not like gummy bears or Gin. Is the narrowness of my choices today a function of my stodginess or wisdom of experience?
Likewise what is it that occurs when an David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-28138001963805355772010-01-29T12:20:00.000-08:002010-01-29T12:20:49.989-08:00Life RepairI am in the process of some "life repair". Trying to make the down parts of my life less burdensome, regretful, and painful.
In down moments I find myself trying to answer questions that have no real answer. Perhaps you ask yourself the same ones: "If only I had done .......?" or "Why didn't I listen?" or "What was I thinking?"
Even though there are no real answers to these questions, healing David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-45493721317294553762010-01-13T16:55:00.000-08:002010-01-14T09:46:05.668-08:00Community is Where You Create ItI have a wise friend who tells me all the time that "Community is where you find it!" She would always follow that statement up with "...but only if you are looking for it!" I think the statement should be "Community is where you create it!" And here is a little personal story to illustrate.
I love making music with other people. I love the entire process from writing songs to learning them, David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-20046188527809314982009-12-30T13:15:00.000-08:002009-12-30T13:15:34.171-08:00Joshua's TreePortland was hit with a surprise snow storm yesterday afternoon. It wasn’t a surprise to me, as early yesterday morning during my walk with Happy-dog through the park near my home, I could smell the potential for snow (I even documented my snow-sense in an email to my daughter, who is visiting family in France, announcing to her that I thought it just might snow. And it did!). We received a Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-35719753439500158582009-12-26T12:27:00.000-08:002009-12-26T12:27:00.298-08:00Positive Aging Conference Overview--WellnessUnfortunately I did not hav ethe opportunity to attend any of the sessions for this topic so I am not able to write from my own experience. Many of the presentations were related to health care and nursing home operations which according to others did not have anything new to add to the discussions. However there were a few presentations which were thought provoking:
Several presenters related David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-29193529462245168762009-12-23T16:18:00.000-08:002009-12-23T16:18:08.600-08:00a moment of intentional agingToday is my forty-third birthday. I have silver-shooting stars dancing on my head, having ceased coloring my hair a year ago. When I stand still and close my eyes, I might as well still be twenty-three, that's how good and at ease I feel in my body when it isn't in pain (yesterday it was, and the day before, but not today). The mind I have today is my favorite mind so far--I like how it has Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-49334539089745654482009-12-23T08:54:00.000-08:002009-12-23T12:27:12.349-08:00Positive Aging Conference-CreativityFor me, one of the really big takeaways from the Positive Aging Conference was a presentation from Dr. Michael Patterson, Founder of mindRAMP and Associates and board member of the National Center for Creative Aging. He spoke on 'Why Creativity Matters' using research data from a major study of the long-term effects of creativity on health and wellness in a senior population.
They found that asDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-35919163156863790192009-12-21T07:08:00.000-08:002009-12-21T07:49:57.379-08:00Positive Aging Conference Overview--CommunityCommunity and Positive Aging:
One of the tracks that interested me at the Positive Aging Conference was "Community". Although many of the presentations were specific to care facilities or retirement communities there were a few new and interesting concepts presented.
I did not get a chance to hear many of the presentations because they were all going on at the same time but I did get to two David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-55551430057427059792009-12-17T13:51:00.000-08:002009-12-17T21:28:02.432-08:00Exercising Our Spiritual Organs"The average woman generally feels once in her life the full happiness of love and once the joy of freedom. Once in her life she hates bitterly. Once with deep grief she buries a loved one, and once finally, she dies herself. That is too little for our innate capacity to love, hate, enjoy, and suffer. We exercise daily to strengthen our muscles and sinews that they may not degenerate. But our David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-29742333734612678162009-12-15T06:36:00.000-08:002009-12-15T06:36:00.243-08:00Elders and Wishes"Like our shadows our wishes lengthen as the sun declines." Poet Edward Young
Isn't one of the key advantages of age that we have a broader more compassionate perspective of the world and those in it? Is this not also true for what we wish the world to be? The role of elders is to be the "keepers of the big picture". If we let them they can pull us back, individually and collectively, from David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-61157437420053413362009-12-13T08:10:00.000-08:002009-12-14T13:31:46.848-08:00Aging Denialist, Realist or Enthusiast?One of the takeaways from the Positive Aging Conference last week was something that Bill Thomas said in his keynote speech, a call for each of us to embrace our own aging process.
For those of you who do not know Dr. Bill, he is a geriatric physician and a self-proclaimed nursing-home abolitionist who has, for many years, worked to create a new model for care facilities that empower residents David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-13155342089251881452009-12-11T06:56:00.000-08:002009-12-11T07:08:43.814-08:00After the Positive Aging ConferenceAll the way back yesterday from the the Positive Aging Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, I was thinking about the quality of people that come together each year around this issue of positive/intentional aging. We are fortunate to have the quality and committed people from all walks of life who are working to make our culture more empowering for elders and generally supportive of a new way David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-8453783271402192222009-12-07T07:59:00.000-08:002009-12-07T07:59:00.160-08:00Functional eldersWhere are our functional Elders?
If they are around they are certainly hard to find. I’m not talking about the demographic of everyone over a certain age. I’m looking for those men and women, of any age, who make it their calling to continue their own spiritual, psychological and emotional development at the same time they are being in-service to the following generations. Are they culturallyDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-27880870467878382202009-12-05T06:02:00.000-08:002009-12-05T06:02:00.233-08:00Mortality and SpiritualityAccording to Gay Luce, author of Longer Life, More Joy, elderhood is a time to discover inner richness for self-development and spiritual growth. Elderhood is also a time of transition and preparation for dying, which is at least as important as preparation for a career and family.
Many of us in this culture, and I include myself, fear that even thinking about death will somehow bring it's David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-22463635081721060502009-12-03T06:36:00.000-08:002009-12-03T08:16:27.852-08:00Importance of Purpose"During my long life, I have learned one lesson: that the most important thing is to realize why one is alive----and i think it is not only to build bridges or tall buildings or make money, but to do something for humanity. To bring joy, hope, to make life richer for the spirit because you have been alive, that is the most important thing." Musician Arthur Rubinstein
[This topic is one that David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-59574485311571302662009-12-02T12:28:00.000-08:002009-12-02T12:28:53.630-08:00wet and windblownDecember 2, 2009
7:30-8:40 a.m.
Just in case we needed more direct evidence of the power (and necessity!) of collaboration, let me acknowledge that my dear friend and colleague David has been holding down the fort single-handedly for the past several weeks. You may not have noticed that I’ve been missing from the Intentional Aging Collective for awhile, but I have noticed that I’ve been missing,Jenny Sasserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08670705132785879293noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-76045477976841228782009-11-30T08:36:00.000-08:002009-11-30T10:37:51.854-08:00Sense of Place"As we move into the second half of life, we inevitably confront the question "Where in the world do I belong?" Changes in relationships, work, and physical health naturally precipitate the need to reconsider our sense of place. And this means both our external place--where we live--as well as a more internal sense---where and to whom do I really belong. Fortunately, the second half can provide David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-14531866841512339822009-11-28T07:17:00.000-08:002009-11-28T07:17:00.216-08:00Creative Aging Pioneer PassesAs I get ready to attend the 3rd Annual Positive Aging Conference I am thinking about Dr. Gene Cohen one of the loudest proponents of aging creatively in the world. Here is an article from the Washington Post (edited for brevity):
Gene D. Cohen, an impish geriatric psychiatrist who championed the idea that people past retirement age have untapped stores of creativity and intellectually rigorousDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-24118230423062932472009-11-26T06:19:00.000-08:002009-11-26T06:19:00.496-08:00Fun and Humor"Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun as important item on their daily agenda. For me, that was always high priority in whatever I was doing." Astronaut Chuck Yeager
If ever there was a time to have fun it is the second half of life. Most of us are better able to laugh at ourselves and we can also see the humor in life's journey.
And humor and fun are wonderful gifts we can give David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-56822381647509515082009-11-23T06:03:00.000-08:002009-11-23T06:03:00.067-08:00Letting Youth Die"Inside every seventy-year-old is a thirty-five-year-old asking, "What happened?" Ann Landers
Another way to look at this is part of a David Wilcox song, "In the years it takes to make one man wise....a young man dies." Our job as intentional elders-in-waiting is to embrace our older self and let our young woman/man die away.
Think about how the world might be changed if we all embraced age asDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-5510448595224711092009-11-21T06:58:00.000-08:002009-11-21T06:58:00.516-08:00Be Outrageous"Old age is an excellent time for outrage. My goal is to say or do at least one outrageous thing every week." Activist Maggie Kuhn
Intentional aging is about being authentic and giving the world our best. Sometimes our best is "outrageous"!David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-52104291810895652522009-11-19T06:07:00.000-08:002009-11-19T06:07:00.695-08:00Developmental AgingI'm personally intrigued by the different ways people seem to go about aging. In today's society aging is not one thing, it is many things and it is different for each person. And I would not want it any other way. The second half of life is when we are the most different.
Having completed our child rearing duties and perhaps our career chasing too, we are free to express ourselves in new David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-29082264048841419742009-11-17T06:05:00.000-08:002009-11-17T06:05:00.140-08:00What Is Community?What is the meaning of community in the second half of life? Is it the city we live in? The church or organizations we belong to? Our family of origin (or choice)?
I recently gave a presentation on Community in the Second Half of Life to a group of fifty retirees at a local University. I was amazed that a topic of this nature could attract that many people. In the room people openly shared David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-79827092245096980342009-11-15T08:04:00.000-08:002009-11-15T08:04:13.475-08:00Noticing"The heart of most spiritual practice is simply this: Remember. Remember who you are. remember what you love. Remember what is sacred. remember what is true. Remember that you will die, and that this day is a gift. Remember how you wish to live." Wayne Muller, How, Then, Shall We Live?
Today....today I want to notice everything. The rain falling and running off the roof, the soft light on theDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-88374973742099283622009-11-13T12:32:00.000-08:002009-11-13T14:35:39.027-08:00Wisdom and AgeDoes wisdom really increase with age, or is it something we bestow to elders because we can't think of anything else nice to say?
Dr. George Vaillant inquires about this question in his book, Aging Well. He ask if perhaps we as a culture give too much credibility to the wisdom of oldsters. He poses the question "Do we endow the elderly with wisdom only as a good-hearted effort to jolly them David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-80070721639529454572009-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:002009-11-08T06:00:03.869-08:00Being Young At Heart"I want to die young at an advanced age." Journalist Max Lerner
I notice young children a lot! How they see the world. How they live in almost constant wonder. I'm also curious when they stop? What is it that we do to them that forces them to lose that wonder?
Ever notice when a child comes in to a room where there is a parent and grandparent together. The child immediately zeroes in on David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-28851133834482608302009-11-06T08:32:00.000-08:002009-11-06T08:32:15.616-08:00My SongOne of my life's secret desires (Besides finding the World's Best Cinnamon Roll!) has been to write songs. I love quirky lyrics about life, love, and maturing and felt like I could do that too. But after many attempts over the years I was drawing a blank. I just did not know how to spark the creativity I thought I had inside to get anything on to paper and guitar. So I did what many people do, IDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-56560629440098829652009-11-04T10:46:00.000-08:002009-11-04T10:46:51.463-08:00Advice Is Cheap!"Advice about life is now so cheap and abundant, it floods us from email greetings, tea bags, coffee cups, and the sides of city buses..." Richard Leider, Something to Live For
(...and blogs like this one, too! :-))
I wish I could just take someone's advice from the side of a bus or a tea bag and be successful in this time of life. My life challenges these days come from not knowing where toDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-84201100277212139042009-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:002009-10-31T06:00:03.407-07:00Home Port"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves..." ---Mary Oliver
I carry this poem around with me and refer to it often. To me it feels much like a home port does for a sailor. Grounding and safe! It reminds me, at age 64, to show my real authentic selfDavid Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1275300596908012893.post-82998260700332673842009-10-29T08:32:00.000-07:002009-10-29T08:36:42.454-07:00"Because........."Jenny's wonderful story about her Mother reminded me of a story about my Paternal grandmother.
She was as "hard-baked" as they come. Sixth-grade education, married very young and then widowed by the first world war. Remarried and divorced years later. With no money or job she spent the last 15 years of her life living alone in a single wide trailer in Garden Grove, Calif with a view of the David Rozellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00099444372405944057noreply@blogger.com1