Agist society or not

Key messages we want to use to stop ageism in our community  A strong message from Maddy at Home

·       Ageism is all around us.

·      All older people are different but ageism assumes that growing older is the same experience for everyone.

·      We must question ageism and how older people are often stereotyped in a certain way because of their age.

·      We live in a world where older people’s rights are denied. This must change! 

·      We live in an ageing world. Don’t let it be an ageist one.

·       Ageism leads to age discrimination, which, like all discrimination, legitimises and sustains inequalities.

·       Describing or depicting older age as something to resist or even delay reinforces ageist stereotypes and suggests living longer is a negative experience for everyone.

·      Ageism puts unnecessary pressures on ourselves to achieve certain goals at a certain time in our lives before we are deemed “too old” to do them.

·       No one can get younger but we can live in a world where living longer is celebrated and not dreaded.

·       Let’s begin to appreciate our diversity throughout our whole lives including in later age\

Dare to Take a Chance

Life is a gamble, and the desire to be secure, is deep within us. What we have to understand that the only places to find security are when we lock ourselves away. We put restrictions on ourselves in an effort to be secure. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs puts safety and security at the base of the hierarchy, with good reason. We need to feel safe so we can build our world, but some of us, focus on the need to be safe, and it becomes all encompassing, we become like prisoners, inmates in our own jail. Inmates are assured a roof over their heads, food and warmth and no responsibilities.

Unfortunately, it's all too easy to reel off a list of bad things that could happen to us. For some people, it's easier than thinking of the good things that could happen.

People who crave security are slaves to a vivid imagination that conjures up bad news items that could happen to them, and they allow these images to cripple their actions. They are too afraid to start because of all the things they imagine that could go wrong. They are too frightened to sell up and buy a larger house in another area because the house prices could drop or the children won't like the new schools, or... and so it goes on for an endless list.

When you were a child and you felt safe, you loved surprises and believed that life was fun and exciting because of they felt safe. As you grew up and you fought for security, you eliminated the risks but in doing so you may have eliminated the element of surprise in your life and may have limited your chances to achieve more.

If you want to make your life meaningful and full of excitement, you need to remove your need to be safe as the overarching goal of you life. You need to dare to:

1.   Be individual.

2.   Develop your own style - instead of following fashion.

3.   Study and work to improve yourself in your profession.

4.   Have a positive mental attitude

5.   Have the courage to try.

In other words: Dare to take a chance.

Make someone's day

Do you want to make someone's day? Not in the Clint Eastwood way, but  in a very good way.

Well, think about when someone suddenly, unexpectedly, in a big way, gave you a gift wanting nothing in return. Remember? 

So you know that should you ever want to irrevocably rock someone's world all you have to do is give that gift.

Easy as......

Buying a gift for a man

Looking for gift ideas for Valentine's Day, look no further. Buying gifts for men is not nearly as complicated as it is for women.   Follow these RULES and you should have no problem:

#1. When in doubt buy him a cordless drill. It doesn't matter if he already has one. I have a friend who owns 17 and he has yet to complain. As a man, you can never have too many cordless drills. No one knows why.

#2. If you cannot afford the above, buy him anything with the word ratchet or socket in it. Men love saying those two words. "Hey, George, can I borrow your ratchet?" "Okay, by the way are you through with my 3/8 socket yet?" Again, no one knows why.

#3. If you are really, really broke, buy him anything for his car. A 99-cent scraper, a small bottle of de-icer or something to hang from his rear-view mirror. Men love gifts for their cars.

#4. Do not buy men socks. DO NOT BUY MEN TIES. And never buy men bathrobes. I was told that if God had wanted men to wear bathrobes, he would not have invented jockey shorts.

#6. Do not buy a man industrial-sized canisters of after shave or deodorant.

#7. Buy men label makers. Almost as good as cordless drills. Within a couple of weeks, there will be labels absolutely everywhere. "Socks, shorts, cups, saucers, door, locks, sink" You get the idea.

#8. Never buy a man anything and then tell him he should read the instructions because the box says, "some assembly required," because it will ruin his Special Day. He will always have parts left over.

#9. Men enjoy danger. That's why they never cook & but they will bar-b-que.  Get him a monster bar-b-que with a 100-pound propane tank. Tell him the gas  line leaks. "Oh the thrill!" The challenge! Who wants a hamburger.

#10. Men love chain saws. Never, ever, buy a man you love a chain saw. If you don't know why, please refer to Rule #7(remember what happens when he gets a label maker.)

#11. It's hard to beat a really good wheelbarrow or an aluminium extension ladder. Never buy a real man a stepladder. It must be an extension ladder.

 #12. Rope. Men love rope. It takes us back to our cowboy origins, or at least the Boy Scouts. Nothing says, "I love you," like a hundred feet of 3/8" manila rope.