as people come closer to death i have found that only two qustions really matter to them.
am i love?
did i live well
~~~frank ostaseski
a little more inspiration
don't be afrid of the answers.
be afraid of not asking the questions
~~~~jennifer hudson
a little bit of inspiration
You and I appear to be separate. We differ in color, size, and shape . . . in ideas, tastes, and prejudices. . . . Beneath this apparent division, however, hidden deep within each of us is the one Self – eternal, infinite, ever-perfect. This is the closely guarded secret of life: that we are all caught up in a divine masquerade, and all we are trying to do is take off our masks to reveal the pure, perfect Self within.
Eknath Easwaran, Words to Live By
p.s .i'm off to my beloved rocky mountains for a few weeks. inspiration will continue to arrive in your inbox.
do you remember?
do you remember the polio vaccine?
at first it was an injection invented by dr. jonas salk. some years later it was administered orally on a sugar cube thanks to dr albert sabin. that tasted good and it didn’t hurt.
though neither jonas salk (october 28, 1914 – june 23, 1995) nor albert sabin (august 26, 1906 – march 3, 1993) received a nobel prize for their efforts, most baby boomers remember the fear of a polio epidemic and the solutions these men created.rarely, though, do we think of either of them as elders. i recently came across a quote from salk that struck a chord.
“our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors. “
while salk’s invention saved countless thousands of lives during his lifetime, his focus was on the future, on generations that were to come. he left a legacy that has changed the world.while each of us may not change the world as a whole, our legacy will change a small part of it. so what is legacy? we usually think of it as material…which person will inherit what.
in addition to a material legacy we can also leave an ethical one, a spiritual one, a legacy based on our values. this can take the form of a written document. it might be a letter you write to the people who are important to you. it might be attached to your will.or it might be what you say in a meeting, around the dining table or at a party. it might be a book you’ve written or a painting or a poem. it might be a voice recording.or it might simply be your presence, your authenticity, your willingness to grow into your elderhood. this may be the most important legacy you can leave. there will be a trace of that energy that imbues each person you meet. you will have touched something deep in them that then ripples out to all of their connections.
while i imagine salk had an idea of how his legacy would effect the world, he can’t possibly have known that polio is all but eradicated across the globe. we too have no idea how our legacy might influence the future. in spite of the not-knowing, it’s worth our best effort.(if you would like some support in creating a legacy letter, have a look athttps://www.life-legacies.com)
the world's grief, our grief
how can we not grieve when the lungs of the planet of on fire because of our insatiable desire for beef?
how can we not grieve when street corners are inhabited by unhoused people begging for a handout?
how can we not grieve when abuse of all kinds is perpetrated in the name of government, domestic relationships, communication or religious leadership?the talmud, the oral and written source from which the code of Jewish law is derived, tells us,
“do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief… you are not required to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
we are not to be put off, or complacent, or in denial, or ignorant. nor are we to believe ourselves to be above the suffering, somehow not effected by it. as elders, we cannot pretend. we have already lived through too much. we have already know our own suffering and that of those we love.so we cannot act as if the grief of the trees, the people, the creatures of the amazon has nothing to do with us. we cannot act as if the pain of rough sleepers is not our pain. we cannot separate ourselves from democracy or those who experience domestic violence, or those who are followed by trolls in social media or those who put their trust in untrustworthy leaders.most of us have choice beyond imagining. we have access to food, water, educaton. we can live as many can only imagine. and so we can act. those actions may take us to the streets or to the meditation cushion,
the the ballot box or to neighbourhood groups,
to vocal town hall meetings or to prayer.
all actions are needed.rabbi hIllel, (born according to tradition in babylon c. 110 BCE, died 10 CE in jerusalem) was a Jewish religious leader, who is most associated with the development of the Talmud, famously said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?”while we grieve and act, we must also care for ourselves. we can create joy in the midst of the flames. we can love dearly and authentically in the midst of violence. we can speak to power with the voice of freedom in the midst of dictatorial actions.the world is grieving.let us elders act now.
a seat on the bus. is it an entitlement?
are we olders entitled to a seat on the bus?
a friend recently related how embarrassed she was when someone stood up on the bus and offered her a seat. she said she felt old. for her ‘old’ was a negative, implying she was no longer able to stand, no longer physically fit. she did not want, simply by virtue of her grey hair, to be entitled to a seat. maybe, she mused, the person offering the seat had a headache or a heartache and was more in need of the seat than she was.i came away from the conversation pondering...how many times had i stood up for someone in the bus, on the tube? as a teenager i took three buses daily to get from my family’s new home to my high school. i stood a lot as i gave my seat to others who i thought were in greater need than i, many of them elders.is it payback time? had i earned enough good karma points to be able to sit now that my hair is greying and elder years show on my face?
i also recalled a time when i was obliged to take a rail replacement bus for the last 40 minutes of a journey home. i stood the entire time. i admit, i glowered at the two young people smooching in the seats right in front of me. by the time the bus journey ended, i was grumpy.my comment..."i hope someone offers a seat on the bus to your grandmother .”gratitude often springs to my heart when someone offers me a seat on hot and crowded public transport. while i am in good physical condition, there are certainly days i would much rather sit than stand. i am not embarrassed by the generosity of others; nor am i embarrassed to accept, with thanks.
do i feel entitled? sometimes yes, sometimes not really. rather i see the offer as a courtesy, a kindness. kindness is the balm of human interaction. it enables joy and a happier world.we need more kindness and more offers of seats!