Several months back, I started working with Jane Kerschner, a brilliant well-being coach. The few sessions we've already had were as invaluable as I'd expected. We're currently on pause until next month because one of my aha moments was realizing there was still deep personal work to be done before moving forward.
It was a wise move. And I might be ready to reconnect with Jane earlier than I'd expected! Her support is priceless in helping put structure over recognized, embraced life goals. And I now know what shrieks to be moved from vision to reality.
Values-Vision-Dreams
First up ~ developing the Core Values - Personal Vision - Dreams project. Crafting a free share template for individuals, families, circles of friends & care partners for connecting with current core values, composing a vision statement rooted in the here & now, identifying & pursuing present-day dreams.
Ask most oldsters about their purpose & typically they'll answer with a variation on "Too be as little bother as possible." Ask them about dreams & their answers tend to hover around "To go to heaven," "To be dead," & "I don't have any dreams."
Sadly, those responses too often reflect the reality of too many older people. A life without dreams is certain to be one infused with chronic depression.
Gotta shake things up! Vision Values Dreams is one way to start getting things movin'!
Cyber Access for the Technically Timid
Cyber Access for the Technically Timid (CATT) makes me feel all jazzy. CATT offers a broad range of possibilities, from fun surfing the internet, to connecting via e-mail Facebook Skype et al, to blogging & - at its highest end - legacy building.
CATT builds off of my experience with Mom, where the two of us collaborated on her internet access. Some of our most productive times weren't spent at the keyboard, but having a chat over a cuppa, talking about things that interested Mom, sometimes drawing things out that she doubted would be of interest to anyone.
Mom eased her way into writing online. My challenge is to take her organic process & put it into a template that others can use without the evolution.
Too many older people don't think their stories have any value, not knowing how hungry younger folks are to hear them. Up to now, have hit brick walls in trying to duplicate with other oldersters the success of my earlier collaboration. When I suggest sharing their stories, my older friends invariably say, "No one cares." It startles them when I agree!
"It's true. Your children might not care. None of my mother's older children showed any interest in getting her e-mails. Michael urged her to STOP writing them, saying that it was a vanity of her old age that anyone outside of the family would care about her stories. But she still wrote. She wrote because of the notes she'd get from young men & women she only knew by their e-mail address, who shared their gratitude for them, for realizing how similar their challenges were to hers, for hearing her unconscious wisdom. You're right that your children might not care, but your grandchildren will, friends you don't even have right now will. And you will."
Of all the dreams I want to make come true, this is #1 because it arcs across all ages, even benefits society in general. Our culture has gotten so far away from hearing the stories that were once commonplace for the older & elderly to share with family & friends. The opportunities have vanished along with the regular afternoon cup of tea & cinnamon toast, the gabbing while making Sabbath dinners, the casual talk while out on a drive. Let's use digital media to reconnect, to realize its generative potential.
Mim, Peter, Mike - none of them read Mom's e-mails to her devoted dist list, but I still have people come up to say how much something she shared changed their life.
Writing those e-mails didn't come naturally to her, at least not in the beginning. It took a lot of cheer leading & encouraging & countless cuppas to get her to feeling okay with the process. Mom had to release expectations of how others responded & just write for herself. Which is why the people who can make a great success out of using the CATT template will be folks with writing experience, who have interviewing skills, and - above all - who enjoy older people.
early marketing blurb for CATT:: With technology as low-key as a nice cuppa, a friendly chat & her fingers tapping away, Deev can make the brave new worlds of cyberspace ~ Internet, e-mail, Facebook, Skype, blogging ~ accessible to the technically timid of all ages. Have laptop, will travel!
CATT excites me because it's so bloomin' creative. Creating bonds between the writing partners, between the composer & his/her audience, between generations, between self & society. Creating jobs & creating fun. CATT promises to be for others what it was for me & my Mom - generativity at its BEST.
Nurturing a 5th Commandment Mindset
My hopes for this are simple, at least for 2016 - form a multi-faith discussion group to consider the 5th Commandment, what it means & how it's meant to be lived. It's the only commandment that extends a promise - honor our parents so OUR days may be long. It intrigues me.
The Velveteen Grammie
Mom's Mindwalker1910 e-mails* call out to be shared. Rather than publish them as one collection, better to break them down into short volumes - The Velveteen Grammie, (02-1907/16/00), Of Beauty Rich & Rare, Whiskey Sours & Sweet Memories, Laughing Eyes. They are the stories, opinions, commentaries of a woman who wrote from her heart with humor & humility. It's time.
All of these dreams are ready for next steps. They are ready to move past being a vision, a personal dream, into BEING.
First step - identifying what calls to be done - taken. Next steps, coming up!
guesswhatgirls.com
slideplayer.com
boomerhighway.org
patheos.com
swaggerunit.com
No comments:
Post a Comment