The first of a few pictures of autumn – now at a wooded area near you!
Autumn Has Arrived
Category: Health and well being
InnerPeace – Who Do You Hang With?
Who do you want to be? Who do you hang out with? These are two interconnected and related questions. I have learned that if I want to be someone who is kind, inclusive, truthful, generous and compassionate, it is important to spend time with people who embody these virtues.
We need people in our lives who can demonstrate what kindness or compassion look like everyday. Spending time with others who are other-centered helps me to see the everyday choices that this involves. This gives me the opportunity to make similar choices.
Conversely, if I spend time with people who are self-centered, self-focused or interested in living a life of comfort, then I will begin to experience these dysfunctions as “normal.”
How do children learn to make choices? From watching the choices that adults close to them make. How do we learn? The same way. We learn by watching the choices made by those whom we admire.
Where to find people who embody virtuous choices? Volunteer at a homeless shelter or a non-profit near you. Chances are good you will meet other volunteers, homeless women and children and others struggling who demonstrate these virtues daily. Sometimes churches are good places too – though that’s not a guarantee.
Therefore, to become the person you want to be, think carefully about who you spend your time with. Who do you hang with?
You may also like Introducing InnerPeace, Irish Heritage and Difficult People.
“Age-Friendly” Means Friendly For ALL
There’s so much we can do – even in our own local communities. Check out all of the innovative ideas in this article with excellent resource links at the end.
Here are just a few good ideas from the article –
It will take some creative steps to make New York and other cities age-friendly enough to help the coming crush of older adults stay active and independent in their own homes.
“It’s about changing the way we think about the way we’re growing old in our community,” said New York Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs. “The phrase ‘end of life’ does not apply anymore.”
With initiatives such as using otherwise idle school buses to take seniors grocery shopping, the World Health Organization recognizes New York as a leader in this movement.
But it’s not alone.
Atlanta is creating what it calls “lifelong communities.” Philadelphia is testing whether living in a truly walkable community really makes older adults healthier. In Portland, Ore., there’s a push to fit senior concerns such as accessible housing into the city’s new planning and zoning policies.
The key is understanding this (bold emphasis mine):
. . . if you make something age-friendly, that means it is going to be friendly for people of all ages, not just older adults,” said Margaret Neal of Portland State University’s Institute on Aging.
DH and I are actively looking for places to live in retirement that would allow us to use no car, public transportation or only one car. Walking is paramount – to the library, volunteering, faith community, grocery store, restaurants, coffee shops, museums, health care appointments and more. It is healthier, active, you meet more people and it’s easier to stay involved in the community. Check here for a list of most walkable cities in the U.S.
Because we have simplified our lifestyle we don’t need much space for stuff/things (a large kitchen or dining room isn’t necessary, for example). But we do know from our own experience that diversity in people and activities greatly enhances our quality of life.
What do you think? Would you consider adding diversity in people and activities to your life? Would you move to a place where you could easily use public transportation and then actually use it?
You may also like Live a Little, Prairie Walk and Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.
Charity and Justice
Many people are unclear regarding what is charity and what is justice. In fact, the boundary isn’t always black and white. There are gray areas. But generally, charity provides immediate aid for suffering, while justice works to end the underlying causes.
Here’s a biblical example often used to explain the idea of biblical justice, right relationshps or making things right. Moses didn’t ask Pharaoh to give the Israelites better working conditions, shorter hours and health care. Instead, Moses asked to end their entire economic system of slavery. He asked for justice. “Let my people go!” Moses’ request was to end the underlying system of slavery that caused the suffering.
A good example for us today is hunger. Donating food to the food shelf or volunteering at Feed My Starving Children is charity. We could donate food forever and there would still be hunger in the world because the root causes of hunger wouldn’t have been eliminated. On the other hand, Justice is working with organizations like Mary’s Pence or Bread for the World to end the underlying causes of hunger.
We need both and we each need to do both. Charity provides immediate results. This alleviates immediate suffering while motivating us to continue to work for justice, the changing of laws and systems. Justice takes longer and requires the coordinated efforts of many. It can be discouraging because we don’t see immediate results – but it is even more necessary for ending suffering and bringing peace to the world.
Becoming truly human requires real freedom. Stated another way, as long as we are held captive by that which prevents us from choosing in our own best interests (i.e. working for the good of all) we are not truly free.
Justice begins with education. The bible is replete with examples of people escaping injustice in the dominant culture. Exodus and the Exile are two well known examples of stories that work as metaphors for our own spiritual journey to freedom, but also serve as models for real world oppression.
Jesus too, freed people from physical and spiritual oppression or afflictions. But he also told many parables about how the world could be different, more just, about the in-breaking of the reign of God or the Kingdom (e.g. Matt 8:18-23, 20:1-16, 22:2-14 ). These parables helped others to become empowered to escape the actual oppression of families, tribes and the dominant culture of his time.
Scripture scholar Marcus Borg explained this idea of the bible as a collection of stories about justice and freedom in a talk he gave in April 2011, at Westminster Forum entitled “Speaking Christian.”
We cannot be truly free until we are no longer held captive by unjust ideas, patterns and practices of our dominant culture.
Click on the links above. Learn more. Share what you learn.
“If you want peace, work for justice” Pope Paul VI.
You may also like Question the Culture, Power of Framing and Myth of Objective Reporting.
Fabulous Friday
Fabulous Friday, even on Saturday. Be good to yourself. Buy yourself some fresh flowers from the Farmers’ Market.
These are usually large bouquets for only $5. You can divide them into two or more arrangements. Give one to a friend or a neighbor. This particular bouquet filled three vases. Now I have flowers in every room.
There’s nothing nicer than coming home to fresh flowers on your table. Enjoy them on Friday and all week long.
You may also like Introducing Fabulous Fridays, Another Fabulous Friday and Fill Your Life With Fabulous.