Monday, December 1, 2014
Living In The Here and Now
Living in the Here and Now and
Joined by the Age of Seventy Five
I am very happy to be still alive
And have a body that can stand
Each morning I awake with a smile
Breathing deeply all the while
Keeping me is a desire for artistry
With painting's and poetry
Now I sit and hear rain sprinkles
And think about my face wrinkles
Sooner or later I will go
Hopefully after the snow
So I send this message for you
Pay attention to what you do
Be happy until the End
And keep in knowledge
That Life's your friend
i
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Personal Growth in Retirement
Personal Growth In Retirement[1]
First:
“Retirement often leads retirees to conduct their own life review…The
values of our past lives may no longer be relevant. Taking on the task of
finding things that are more relevant to this new stage of life…By the time we
reach retirement we usually have fairly good idea of our strengths and
weaknesses.
“…There are many pathways to personal growth. They include philosophy, psychology,
religion, martial arts and various practices like yoga and meditation.”
“Psychologists have noted that as we age we tend to become
more inwardly focused. Taking stock of our lives at the onset of retirement is
an example of this inward focus.
Perhaps this tendency is a natural aspect of the latter part of our life
circle that gives us the opportunity to put our energy into
self-discovery. This can be
applied with Meta games played for knowledge and personal development.
One of the Meta games is the “art game”. Although the ‘art game’ ideally leads
to an inner awareness loosely defined as beauty it often results in artists who
exhibit technical proficiency but lack inner awareness.
The “religion game” is another meta-game. In its’ pure form
it aims at salvation or self-development of the person, but history has shown
that the politics of religion has often or repressed this purpose. It is
referred to as the “master game”.
The basic idea underlying of all great religions is that man
is asleep, that he lives amid dreams and delusions, that he cuts himself off
from universal consciousness (the only meaningful definition of God) to crawl
into the narrow shell of personal ego.
We have heard the old saying of “the spirit is willing but
the flesh is weak”
The decision to retire and when to retire and when to retire
are among the most important decisions workers will make in their lifetimes.
The choice to pursue personal growth and has less obvious material
repercussions. Nonetheless, it is
the option that may have significant appeal for some retirees. (This is just a small toe of the book)
[1] Material gathered from Essential
Retirement: Psychological Concerns Created by John W. Osborne ISBN
0-9738303-0-1
Monday, July 14, 2014
Searching for Meaning
Searching For Meaning[1]
Since the
beginning of my retirement I have been asking myself; “who am I”. I believe
that this blog is an important task that I have created for myself as I find
information to send out to the world of the internet. According to Dr. Osborne “Meaning provides coherence to our
lives and leads to purpose.” “ Our
meanings may originate from our private experience of be taken from an outside
source like science or religion. (While I grew up inside a Christian church in
later years I have been closer to scientific research that focuses on level of
probability rather than certainty).
Some of the
things that meaning can take are:
“Trying to make the world a better place for others, working for a cause
(civil rights); creating a new idea using technology; creating an art form or
work of art; making the most of one’s life; working on one’s evolution to
higher states of consciousness (I love meditation). “The question remains as to the point of creating these
types of meanings. The concern is
whether there is an ultimate meaning that encompasses all meanings.” For me helping others has always been
important ; quite likely because I was the oldest child born in my parent’s
family and learned early that being a helper is “who I am.”
“Being part
of a group or collective gives us the meaning of belonging to a group, ( for
years I have been on the board of the local senior’s centre-LSRS. I have a
meeting this afternoon.) We need
to work on our own self-development within the context of a world beyond narrow
self-interest. At the same time we
need to be careful we don’t trade our potential self-hood for the security of
the collective.” Good Luck!
[1] The
Above post was gathered from Essential Retirement: Psychological Concerns
presented by John W, Osborne
ISBN 0-9738303-9-1
Searching For Meaning[1]
Since the
beginning of my retirement I have been asking myself; “who am I”. I believe
that this blog is an important task that I have created for myself as I find
information to send out to the world of the internet. According to Dr. Osborne “Meaning provides coherence to our
lives and leads to purpose.” “ Our
meanings may originate from our private experience of be taken from an outside
source like science or religion. (While I grew up inside a Christian church in
later years I have been closer to scientific research that focuses on level of
probability rather than certainty).
Some of the
things that meaning can take are:
“Trying to make the world a better place for others, working for a cause
(civil rights); creating a new idea using technology; creating an art form or
work of art; making the most of one’s life; working on one’s evolution to
higher states of consciousness (I love meditation). “The question remains as to the point of creating these
types of meanings. The concern is
whether there is an ultimate meaning that encompasses all meanings.” For me helping others has always been
important ; quite likely because I was the oldest child born in my parent’s
family and learned early that being a helper is “who I am.”
“Being part
of a group or collective gives us the meaning of belonging to a group, ( for
years I have been on the board of the local senior’s centre-LSRS. I have a
meeting this afternoon.) We need
to work on our own self-development within the context of a world beyond narrow
self-interest. At the same time we
need to be careful we don’t trade our potential self-hood for the security of
the collective.” Good Luck!
[1] The
Above post was gathered from Essential Retirement: Psychological Concerns
presented by John W, Osborne
ISBN 0-9738303-9-1
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Essential Retirement: Psychological Concern
Retirement within the Context of
Lifespan[1]
To better
understand the experience of retirement wee need to se it as part of our
preceding lifetime rather than in isolation. In many ways the experience of retirement is a continuation
of our prior existence. Our
activities, lifestyle, habits, values, attitudes, personalities, identities,
self-concepts and many other personal characteristics provide the prelude and
foundation for our retirement experience even though our self concept may
change from time to time depending on events and our moods. For example, Susan struggled with
feeling not very appealing at various points in her life. But after losing weight, joining
toastmasters and earning a Bachelor of Arts she felt more positive about her
self. Her self-concept
changed. However the consciousness
that experienced these events was her continuing identity.
(This Blog
is a perfect example of the process as I am a retired university psychology
professor. I not only continue to
teach I send it out all over the world.
[1] Material
found within John W. Osborne
Essential Retirement: Psychological Concerns ISBN 0-9738303-0-1
Saturday, July 5, 2014
A short example of Ageist Humor
Ageist Humor[1]
Retirement
Man who has
retired after 40 years of rushing to catch the commuter train, to his wife:
Please turn my eggs over this morning; I don’t like them sunny side up.”
“Why didn’t
you say so before?”
“ I didn’t
have time before.”
ISBN 0-8261-7000-5
For those of you who are exploring Ageism, I highly recommend this book.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
After Retirement: Psychological Considerations
After Retirement: Psychological
Considerations [1]
What does
Retirement mean:
· Does not always mean complete
withdrawal from work environment
· Some seniors have bridge jobs the
holds between ending their primary employment and final retirement
· Bridge jobs are associated with both
retirement and overall life satisfaction.
Stability
and Change of Personality:
· For instance, if your are a hostile
person you are unlikely to mellow much with age
· The same is true for optimistic
Personality
Traits contribute to Health and Longevity.
· Personality is a strong predictor of
emotionality and subjective well-being
· Negative emotions tend to decrease
with age
· Positive emotions tend to remain
stable; possibly because as we age we tend to seek activities and people that
give us emotional gratification.
Ego
Integrity Vesus Despair
· Is a state we reach after taking
care of things and people, Products and ideas, and having adapted to successes
and failures of existence
· Ego integrity: a sense of having integrated one’s
life.
· Perceiving the dignity of our style
of life and defending it from potential threat.
Wisdom
· Is the virtue that develops;
informend and detatched concern with life itself in the face of approaching
death
· Physical and mental activity slows
down
· Simple wisdom maintains and conveys
the integrity that accumulated experience of previours years.
Coping
· Adaptive thinking or behaviour aimed
at receiving or reducing stress that rises from harmful , threatening or
challenging conditions .
Religion
and Meditation
· ‘There is a positive link between
religion or spirituality and health,
marriage satisfaction, psychological well-being, and physical health.
· Meditation is also a useful
connector to physical and mental health.
Three Main
Components of Successful Aging
· Avoidance of disease and or disease
related disability
· Maintenance of high physical and
cognitive functioning
· Sustained active engagement in
social and productive activities.
More about
Personal Relationships
· We tend to spend less time with
others as we age
· Relationships that we don maintain
are important for our well- being
Social
Contact Seems to Prolong Life
· 53% of men who are socially isolated
die from cardiovascular disease and more than twice as like to die from
accidents or suicide (compared to men who are not isolated
· Large social networks and frequent
social contacts also are connected with less cognitive decline.
Intimate Relationships
· Marital satisfaction influences
overall health
· Being married itself is important
for man; women’s health is more related to the quality of their marriage
· Friendships are also very important
for overall health.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Retirement and Depression
Retirement, & Depression
Betty Freidan in her excellent book The
Fountain of Age (published
in 1993) indicates
that depression can be a natural response to the loss of power and purpose.
Losing one’s sense of these characteristics is often associated with retirement
Simone
de Beauvoir was a French existentialist philosopher
who died in 1986. One of her many
books focuses on The Coming of Age (published in 1972.) Most of the key ideas in this post are taken from that book.
She comments that many gerontologists agree that being without work and having
feelings of uselessness during the last twenty years of one's life is
psychologically and sociologically very difficult. She suggests that retirees
have two requirements, to rest and to live decently. Living in poverty,
especially under current economic conditions, raises the question of how many
of us will have the resources to rest and live decently and therefore may
become vulnerable to depression.
Gradual
retirement, sometimes called bridge retirement, is better than a “sudden chop.”
I can personally confirm this. Since I began my struggle against mandatory
retirement 5 years ago I have been teaching only two classes. It effects my
paycheck and pension contributions but it is a lot more comfortable than
teaching a full load of four courses. I am, however, somewhat concerned with my
likelihood of living decently after I retire.
In
summary, retirement as a radical break cutting us off from our past, may force
us to adapt to a new status that on the negative side, can lead to “a lasting
state of depression” If you are retired or close to retirement the following
questions may be useful.
Some Depression Questions
1. Depressed Mood
Do
you often feel "sad" or "empty" or may cry frequently.
2. Decreased Interest or Pleasure
Do
you have markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, daily
activities?
3. Weight Changes
Do
you have significant changes in weight when not attempting to gain or lose weight? (A gain or
loss of 5% or more in a month)
4. Sleep Disturbances
Do
you have a hard time getting to sleep or sleeping too much?
5. Psychomotor Agitation or Retardation
Do you find yourself either agitated and
restless or physically slowed down when you are moving?
6. Fatigue
Do you often feel deep fatigue or a loss of
energy?
7. Feelings of Worthlessness or Guilt
Do you feel that you have no value or
inappropriately guilty about things you have no control over?
8. "Brain Fog"
Do you have a diminished ability to think,
concentrate or make decisions?
Friday, June 27, 2014
My Leisure Options in Retirement
My Leisure Options in Retirement
1. Art has always been an interest to
me. I really like to create poetry
(go to my site Art With Wrinkles). I also like to paint with acrylic. While I am being creative I am very
happy.
2. I love to read books and have a room with at least a hundred novels. One of my favourite
novelists is Steven King.
3. I enjoy TV; everything from the news
each day to series that continue for months (and sometimes years) (and also
like movies)
4. I sit at my laptop for hours playing
games. My favourite type of games are
Time Management.
5. And from where ever it comes; radio,
TV or singing to myself taking a shower; I love to here music. One of my favourites TV shows is The Dance Academy, produced and sent from Australia.
6. And finely I really like to do
research. If you are interested, go to Retirement: Third Age Learning New Beginnings
Monday, June 23, 2014
Ageism Humor and Songs by Erdman Palmore ISBN
Ageism Humor and Songs[1]
In 1971 I
published the first study of attitudes toward aging as shown my humor. This was a content analysis of 264
jokes about aging and elders, classified in terms of subject matter, gender,
activity, and positive versus negative views of aging. More than half of the jokes
reflected a negative view of aging or elders, and only one-quarter were
entirely positive toward aging.
Since then several
other studies have done content analysis of jokes, cartoons, and birthday cards
about aging. They all reached
similar conclusions: that the majority of humor reflects or supports negative
attitudes toward aging, and that positive humor about aging is rare.
Even jokes that are judged
to be “positive” often depend on a contradiction of negative stereotypes for
their humor. For Example
One old
lady tells her friend “ I didn’t sleep well last night because a man kept
pounding on my door.”
“Why
didn’t you open the door?”
“What
and let him out?”
This s funny only because of the stereotype
that assumes that old ladies are not interested in sex. Thus even “positive” jokes often assume
negative stereotypes.
In summary,
most humor about ageing tends to support negative ageism. Just as there are racist and sexist
jokes, there are ageist jokes.
Most of the tellers and listeners are not conscious of their ageist
implications. This may even
increase the joke’s impact on the listener’s unconscious attitudes.
Similarly, a recent
analysis of over 300 pieces of sheet music related to ageing found that a
substantial majority presents a negative view of aging and old age.
[1] Material for this post comes from:
Ageism: Negative and Positive. It was produced by Erdman Palmore in Ageism
Negative and Positive ISBN 0-8261-7000-5
Friday, June 20, 2014
Living Well In Retirement
Living Well In
Retirement
Retirement
has different meanings to different people. Some people stop working completely
with levels of ambivalence. Some people cut back on their hours gradually and
consider themselves semi-retired. There are also those people who cut back on
their hours and say they will keep working until they die. On the
other end some people can hardly wait to retire, Planning involves not only
financial but social factors. Consider the following
questions.
1. What does or will
Retirement Mean to you
2. Do you consider
yourself retired, semi-retired working
full time?
3. Were you or
are Ready To Retire?
4. Have you (or did
you) consider complete or partial
retirement?
In other words, consider part-time or temporary
work, or even a less than full-time
small
business venture?
5. How do the
following Represent your feelings and
understanding
a.
Do you consider yourself retired, semiretired,
b.
Have you watched or listened to programs on health?
c.
Have you joined a club, team, or organization?
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Age Identity and The Politics of Self
The subjective experience of being ignored, devalued and disadvantaged
as served as a trigger for many individuals who possess ‘minority group’ status
seek collectively to obtain due hearing in the political process. This has not happened to any
substantial degree with older people.
Despite the growing political power of the grey vote, there is little
evidence that politics directed at specific circumstances of older people are
higher up the agenda now than they were 50 years ago.
Embracing age as a politicized identity, and we can argue
will remain, to transgressive a step for even the most radical groupings. For now, at least, resisting age rather
than ageism greases more palms, oils more deals, and turns more dollars. Perhaps, resistance can only be
expressed by inertia—not bothering to participate as an age-graded consumer.
Aging, not old age has been the focus of the book. If old age an essentialist status,
structured and determined by physical decline and social marginalization, aging
can be seen as a process of negotiation between that and the statuses of
adulthood. Negotiating on how to
remain an adult, how to develop as an adult and how to avoid the loss of adult
statuses is a task confronting more and more people as they enter post-working
life.
(This book is
full of great information and those of you who are or will be determined to
resist ageism should read more)
[1] Material for this post was found in Cultures
of Aging. Created by Christopher Gilleard & Paul Higgs. ISBN 0-582-35641-5
in the year 2000
Friday, June 13, 2014
Memory Aids
Memory Aids[1]
· Write it down.
The act of writing itself helps the process of memory as well as serving
as a reminder if it is written on your calendar or posted in a prominent place
( like your laptop).
· Create a visual image. This helps
process the memory into another are of the memory banks.
· Associate it with something you
already know; connect the memory with another one, such as another similar name
or word or image
· Memorize small chunks at a
time. Think of a phone number as
three chunks (area code, the exchange, and the individual number), not one long
number
· Be consistent about where you put
things. Designate one or two places that you put down your glasses or key or
wallet or hearing aid. Do not put your wallet away until you
have put your credit card into it.
· Look for visual cues. To remember where you parked, look for
specific landmarks, or write down the number of the space
· Set a timer to remind you to take
care of something, like turn of the burner or wake up from a nap.
I find these quite helpful
[1] By Oversem,
Thomas Nicolaj, Larsen Lars; Solem, Per Erik Nordic Psychology, Vol 61 (3) Nov 2009
4-22.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Conceptual Analysis of Ageism #1
A broad definition of Ageism
Ageism is defined as negative and positive
stereotypes, prejudice and/or discrimination against (or advantage of) elderly
people on the basis of their chronological age or on the basis of a perception
of them as being ‘old’ or ‘elderly’.
Ageism can be implicit or explicit and can be expressed on a micro- .
meso- or macro-level.
The concept includes the classic social psychological
components in the form of 1) cognitive (stereotypes). 2) affective (prejudice),
3) and behavioral components (discrimination), in other words, how we on the
basis of chronological age or age categorization mistakenly; 1) think of, 2) feel for, 3) and act on
the aging human being.
Furthermore, ageism can operate both consciously
(explicitly) and unconsciously (implicitly) and it can manifest itself on three
different levels, individual (micro-level), in social networks (meso-level) and
on institutional and cultural level (macro) level). As a consequence the definition contains the following key
dimensions.
The three classic components (cognitive, affective,
and behavioral)
1.
The positive / negative
aspect (positive and negative ageism)
2.
The conscious /unconscious
aspect (implicit and explicit ageism
3.
The typological
division of levels (ageism on micro- meso- and macro-level
[1] By Iversen, Thomas Nicolaj; Larsen,
Lars; Solem, Per Erik, Nordic Psychology, Vol 61(3), Nov
2009, 4-22
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Know Thyself
Know Thyself; Finding Self
Acceptance[1]
The
ancient Greeks encouraged us to know ourselves; that is to work toward
accurately looking at our own action, motivations and feelings. Many of those focused on this idea also
emphasized the need for positive self-regard, which is seen as a central
feature of mental health as well as characteristic of self-actualization,
optimal functioning, and maturity.
Life span theories also emphasized the importance of self-acceptance of
self, including our past lives. Both
Erik Erickson’s formulation of ego integrity and the Jungian individuation
emphasize the kind of self-acceptance that is notably richer that the standard
views of self-esteem. It is a kind
of self-evaluation that is long-term and involves awareness, and acceptance of,
both personal strengths and weaknesses.
Having
a purpose in life means having to effectively cope with life travails and
suffering. Gordon Allport, one of
psychology’s most important theorists, held that having a clear comprehension
of life’s purpose is central to life satisfaction.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Who Am I After I Retire ?
About Personal Identities After
Retirement[1]
This study addresses the question of how retired people’s
self-image differs from that of working people and what factors predict peoples
self-definition as professionals or retirees. Seven hundred ninety-two Swiss persons aged 58-70 (386 men,
406 women; 349 not retired, 443 retired) was asked to rate the importance of
different self-description domains (such as profession, family roles, personal
values, etc.). Results indicated that
the profession domain remains important for self-description even after
retirement, to the extent that retirement status does not predict the
importance of professional identity at all. Rather, consistent with social identity theory, the
importance of the profession for self-description is best predicted by the
status of the (former or current) job.
The importance of retirement status for self-definition is predicted
best by a positive attitude toward aging.
In general, retired respondents rated more domains of self- description
as important than did the not-yet-retired respondents and no domain was less
important after retirement. In
other words, identity diversity was higher for the retired than for the not-yet
retired persons. In addition, high
identity diversity correlated with a high satisfaction across different life
domains.
Friday, June 6, 2014
The Healthy Aging Brain
The Healthy Aging Brain[1]
The Correlates of Volunteerism
All of my
life I have had the need to help others (I am the oldest child in the family). I
retired from being a university professor. Over the last ten years and continuing (I am now 74 years
old), I have been a volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society for quite a long
time. The next material is from
page 277 of the book referenced below.
· Greater psychological well-being
· Better life adjustment
· Greater sense of meaning, purpose,
and morale
· Less stress and anxiety
· Better physical health and
immunological functioning
· Less depression and hopelessness
· Les pain from arthritis and other
illnesses
· Better social connectivity
Sustaining attachment, attaining wisdom
ISBN 10: 0-393-70513-7
Thursday, June 5, 2014
A Way to Practice Meditation on your own
A way To Practice Meditation On Your
Own
Breath Deeply Focus all your attention on your
breathing. Concentrate on feeling and listening as you inhale and exhale
through your nostrils. Breath
deeply and slowly. When your
attention wanders, gently return your focus on your breathing.
. Scan your body. When using this technique, focus attention on different
parts of your body. Be aware of
your body’s various sensations, whether its pain, tension, warmth or
relaxation. Combine body scanning
with breathing exercises and imagine breathing heat or relaxation into and out
of different parts of our body.
. Repeat
a mantra. You can create your own mantra,
whether it’s religious or secular.
Examples of religious mantras in the Jesus prayer in Christian
tradition. the holy name of God in Judaism , or the Om Mantra of Hinduism,
Buddhism and other Eastern religions.
Another one is Na Ta Sa Ma.
. Walk and Meditate. Combining a walk with mediation is an efficient and healthy
way to relax. You can use this
technique anywhere you are walking—in a tranquils forest, on a city sidewalk or
at the mall. When you use this
method, slow down the pace of walking so that you can focus on each movement of
your legs or feet. Don’t focus on
a particular destination.
Concentration on your legs and feet, repeating action words in your mind
such as lifting, moving and placing as you life each foot, move your leg
forward and place your foot on the ground. As you walk, stay in the here (right here where ever you
are) and now (right now this very minute.)
Engage
in prayer. Prayer is the best known and most
widely practiced example of meditation.
Spoken and written prayers are found in most faith traditions. You can pray using your own words or
read prayers written by others.
Check the self-help or 12-step recovery section of your local bookstore
for examples. Talk to your
spiritual leader about resources.
Read and
reflect. Many people report that they benefit
from reading poems or sacred tests, and taking a few moments to quietly reflect
on their meaning. Anything
you find relaxing with works. It
does not have to be religious.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
About Retirement Wisdom
About Retirement Wisdom[1]
Forget how old you are—This becomes
more important the older you get.
“ In a
study reported in the August 2002 issue of the Journal of personality and Social
Psychology researchers claim that elderly can actually think themselves in to
the grave a lot faster than they would prefer. Indeed people with negative views about aging shorten their
lives by 7.6 years as compared with their counterparts who have a more positive
view of life. Surprisingly,
a positive view about aging can have greater effect than good physical
health. The researchers, led
by psychologist Becca Levy of Yale University reported “the effect of positive
self-perceptions of aging on survival is greater than the physiological
measures of low systolic blood pressure an cholesterol, each of which is
associated with a longer lifespan of four years or less. Our study carries tow messages,”
concluded the researchers. The
discouraging one is that negative self-perception can diminish life expectancy. The encouraging one is that positive self-perceptions
can prolong life expectancy.
The lesson here is that you shouldn’t waste too much time and energy
about getting older.
“
There is a fountain of youth,” declared Sophia Loren. “It is you mind, your
talents, the creativity that you bring to your life and the lives of people you
love. When you learn to tap this
source you will truly defeated age.[2]
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
As Days Go By
As Days Go By
I put research, paintings and poetry
on my Blogs[1]
It makes me happy that my info goes
around the world
I love to teach which I learned as a
firstborn child in our family.
Helping others is my goal of life.
My career was as; a university professor.
Now that I’m retired, I’m thankful
for the Internet
As a teenager and young adult I was
an athlete
Now I like to follow sports on
television.
If I had the money I would travel
around the world
And try to understand what we humans
are all about
I wish we humans would learn to do
unto others
As they would have them do unto
them.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Living Alone in Old Age
The Problem of Living Alone In Old
Age: A vignette
Katherine
is in her mid 80’s and lives alone just of a bus main road. Two years age local children mounted a
series of attacks on her house: stink bombs through her letterbox and so on. “I
got to the point where I didn’t bother answering the door. They were forever taunting me. I felt under siege. When you are on your own, all you can
do is lock up and go to bed.” When
she found two boys smashing her gas meter, they ran off laughing. Cars were driving past but no one
stopped. A constable came and
promised to keep an eye on the children.
There was an article about it in the local newspaper. Katherine read it
and felt even more humiliated.
That was
two years ago. A week ago,
Katherine was wakened by a loud noise of something landing on her roof. It was a brick and her heart sank. Could it be starting all over again? “
I know that it’s just vandalism. They think, “She’s a silly old fool. She won’t
be able to run after us.”
She thought to herself perhaps I should phone the police again. But where does it all end? I’ve been here a long time. I don’t
want to move.”
What do you
think??
Monday, May 26, 2014
The Friendship of Canada and the USA
The Friendship of Canada and the USA
While you may in winter be cold
This country is of me
It's a place where all take hold
Sweet land of liberty
So with the days of snow
And with the sun days of bright
Peace is the way we try to go.
If justice is abandoned we will fight
We are friends of out neighbour USA
All of us live in North America
Quite a few families live each way
And we will always be together.
This country is of me
It's a place where all take hold
Sweet land of liberty
So with the days of snow
And with the sun days of bright
Peace is the way we try to go.
If justice is abandoned we will fight
We are friends of out neighbour USA
All of us live in North America
Quite a few families live each way
And we will always be together.
Manifestatons of Ageism
Manifestations of Ageism[1]
Ageism can
be manifested in many different forms.
At a systematic level, laws and policies may be made without regard to
the needs of older adults, or service cuts may have a disproportionate impact
on older adults. Ageism may take
the form of “granny bashing” in the popular press (blaming many of society’s
current economic worries on older adults). It can be reflected in media where older adults are
portrayed as uniformly poor (and consequently perceived potential drain on
society) or as a uniformly well of group who are unconcerned about the need of
others.
Ageism may
be more commonplace in economic and political literature where demographic
shifts in the population are characterized as portending a future health crisis
or “age wars” with you and old fighting over their share oaf social and health services. Ageism and age discrimination are
abased on social fears, and social response expresses those fears.
It has been
suggested that there can be both internalized and externalized ageism. Internalized ageism refers to the
extent to which older adults take on the social norms that devalue or marginalize
older persons. They may do this at
the individual level by acting in ways that reinforces the youth norm –
battling the obvious and visible markers of aging such as grey hair or
wrinkles. Internalized ageism may also be manifested by denial of any
commonality with others in a cohort, such as the familiar objection of an
eighty-five year old woman or man who vehemently does not want to be associated
with “all those older people”.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
About Happiness Beyond Work
Happiness: The measure of Life
Beyond Work[1]
Happiness:
Enjoy it while you have it… for it is sure to slip away. This is my own opinion, and it is also
supported by a great deal of research;
Happiness is an exlperience, not an asset tht you can lock up in a
safe. Happiness comes, and we
enjoy it; it goes, and we can remember it. It is fortunate that happiness comes , and we enjoy it; it
goes, and we can remember it. It
is fortunate that happiness does come and go. For one thing, constant happiness ruins a good thing. You may have heard the tale that new workers in a candy
factory are urged to eat as much as they want because the managers have learned
that people quickly tire of too much candy……
Who enjoys
a bottle of wine more? The person
who lives wine and haves a great wine every evening or the person who loves
wine and has it once or twice a week?
Over time the, the every-evening great wine becomes expected and
routine. While still delicious, it
is no longer special. The
every-so-often great wine remains a treat to be savored and brings a
smile. Eventually the every-night
great wine loses it’s impact.
[1] The above material was found in the
Book Beyond Work produced by Bill Roiter
ISBN 978-0-470-84094-8
Friday, May 23, 2014
Children's Perceptions of Ageing
“From an
early age, children are on the way to developing diverse and complex social
perceptions of age. As our review
indicates, children’s age attitudes entail differential feelings, beliefs, and
behavioral expectations about older adults and their stereotypes differ along
several dimensions. Children
typically perceive typically perceive older adults negatively along dimensions
that reflect their activity and potency, and sometimes their affect, whereas
they more often perceive older adults positively along evaluative dimensions
that reflect their social goodness.
Contrary to the common expectation that attitudes differ
cross-culturally, research suggests that children’s negative attitudes toward
older adults are universal. However children’s attitudes do vary with their age
and social class and with older adult’s gender. The question remains as to what mechanisms account for
children’s attitudes.
[1] Material of this post was gathered from
the book; Ageism: Stereotyping and prejudice against older persons. Page 93. ISBN 0-262-14077-2 I was edited by Todd D. Nelson It's and excellent book.
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