The Blessing Project™, which is the brainchild of long-time newsletter subscriber Debra Aaron, opens hearts through powerful messages incorporated in exquisite art.

The items used in these pieces are made from natural elements (beads, paper, fabric, yarns, etc) by indigenous women's villages and cooperatives in places such as Kenya. They are then lovingly crafted and assembled by artists in North America.

Each of these exquisite, one-of-a-kind works of art is infused with a blessing. They then find their way to joyous gatherings, a workplace or a single pillow at bedtime, delighting and awakening a strand of remembrance that unites minds, hearts and souls.

The 'Light Workers', as Debra calls them,  who assemble and distribute the cards experience a profound sense of connection with their sisters in other lands by providing hope for blessing across our planet while experiencing more meaning and purpose in their own lives.

Profit from the sale of the pieces is used to start the cycle again in new villages across the globe where women work diligently to improve their communities. 

For more details - including a video - see www.theblessingproject.com

The American tendency to equate being old with being sick, mirrors the view of pregnancy and childbirth that held sway when the 'baby boomers' were born. Obstetricians treated childbearing as an illness and drained almost every drop of humanity from the experience of childbirth. Lamaze and others countered with a focus on women and their families and a recognition of the joyful aspect of birthing. Empowering the mother and strengthening her emotional support turned out to be a terrific way of reducing the very real pain of childbirth.

Dr. Thomas shows that this approach succeeded because it embraced both traditional ideas about birthing and clinical obstetrics. He writes that the Lamaze method did not "...seek to restore the birthing practices of long ago. Few would ever have accepted such a dangerous step backward. Instead it became a hybrid of old and new, different from anything that had come before. We are now preparing for a similar revolution that will transform old age and the lives of elders the world over."

Drawing from popular culture, history, science and literature to explore what aging really is, Thomas presents elderhood as a developmental stage of life that is an essential part of a healthy society, as important in its own way as childhood and active adulthood. He maintains that seeing old age solely in terms of disease, disability and decline, damages our society.

At the heart of the fear of aging that grips so many adults is the dilemma of dependence and independence. Being independent requires you to live in your own home, no matter how dangerous and lonely that might become. Becoming dependent can easily lead to the loss of one's home and a terrifying move into a nursing home. These institutions are famous for stripping people of choice, freedom and self-determination.

In What Are Old People For?, Dr. Thomas introduces a new vision of 'intentional communities,' of up to 10 elders who chose to live together with the help of several younger adults and strive to become a true community. "Baby boomers are the ideal generation to create this new model," says Thomas. "With a higher level of education than any previous generation, a higher level of wealth, and the well-established habit of re-inventing social norms, I think baby boomers are going to find the concepts of intentional communities and the approach to old age as a development stage instead of decline appealing and consistent with their values. I just don't see boomers accepting the fate of a nursing home."

The 'Eldertopia' that Dr. Thomas imagines is encouraged by evidence from a number of extremely successful intentional communities, called Green Houses, that Thomas has created in collaboration with partners around the country. "The idea that only large-scale nursing homes can be cost-effective and provide adequate medical care is false. It is time to liberate elders from institutionalization that saps their dignity and breeds helplessness," says Thomas.

In their place, Thomas advocates small group homes for the aged mainstreamed into residential neighborhoods where elders can maintain their status as part of the community, share a meal and a story with familiar companions, and relish the simple pleasures and satisfaction of being old. With this new model, elders will be able to share their wisdom and their legacy with the children and adults who surround them, restoring them to an important place in our society.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Contributions for this newsletter are eagerly sought. Please send in your writings, your thoughts, your poetry, a book or website you have found, an announcement or news item that you think would be interesting to others, a comment on one of these articles, a subject you'd like to see, an anecdote, something that moved you - whatever snippet you want to share.

LAST LAUGH

Philosophical Thoughts

Is Scotland the home of Oat Cuisine? 

Do arachnophobics have a website? 

How does the snow plough driver get to work in the morning? 

How does the slowest driver always get to the front of the queue on a country lane?

Christmas Tale

A man in Chicago calls his son in New York the day before Christmas and says, 'I hate to ruin Christmas this year, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.'

'Pop, what are you talking about?' the son screams.
'We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,' the father says. 'We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Atlanta and tell her.'

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. 'Like hell they're getting divorced,' she shouts, 'I'll take care of this.' She calls Chicago immediately, and screams at her father, 'You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?' and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife, smiling. 'It worked, honey,' he says. 'They're both coming for Christmas and they're paying their own way.'