Falls

I have discussed the danger of falling for seniors, and I caution all of us who are older to be very careful. When I was talking to my brother the other day, I asked him how he was, since he sounded like he had a bit of a cold. He replied that he was fine, but then he added that he had fallen a few times and was going to talk to his doctor.

I asked him to expand and he went on to say that in the past six months he had fallen at least eight times. Now my brother is two years younger than me, and he should not be falling. I pressed him to see the doctor sooner than later, but he replied he had his physical in  December so that is when he would see the doctor. 

COSCO Senior Health and Wellness Institute does a seminar on the dangers of falling, but Ronnie over at "As Time Goes By" who is going through some medical concerns talked recently about the danger young children pose to seniors. I had to think about what she said and realized that she is correct. Here is part of her story about why she thinks young children are an Elder Hazard
"Then, just a couple of weeks ago while shopping at the Saturday farmer's market an almost identical situation took place: I was wandering the stalls when a couple of young boys, playing tag or running just for the fun of it, almost set me off balance as one of them brushed my arm in passing.

I wasn't as vulnerable that time as I had been in the hospital hallway, but it frightened me in the way that pretty much all old people are afraid of falling (as we should be at our age: one-third of Americans 65 and older fall each year. Some of them die from the fall).

These two almost-accidents are a new phenomenon for me. Before then, I had never thought of young kids as an elder hazard.

It is one thing for young people to ridicule how old people live in their homes – most of them, like me, will outgrow it. It is quite another for them to endanger the lives of old people - and you cannot help but wonder where their parents are.

In my case, I came to my newfound feelings of vulnerability via a massive surgery but in time it would have happened anyway with the normal debilities of age.

But I know that from this moment forward I will give all young children a wide berth. They are not safe for an old person to be around.

What do you think?

Self Limiting beliefs

I find it interesting that we all have beliefs that limit ourselves. These beliefs have been with us for a long time and may have started when we were very young. Others wiser than I have courses on how to change your beliefs, how to make a paradigm shift in your thinking. Much of the advice I see in this area is interesting but lacking on specifics (unless you pay big bucks for the book, the CD, or the Webinar). 

I don't charge big bucks so take my advice or leave it, but I believe that one way to defeat invisible, limiting beliefs, even ones you may not know you have, is to simply dream. Not just dream but dream of a life so grand, that your self-limiting beliefs couldn't possibly make sense in that dream world.

And then start living that life today, however humbly at first. You will find that the self-limiting belief will fade away, very slowly, but they will fade.

Let the good times roll

On this Friday afternoon in October, I am thinking about how we sometimes miss opportunities to play. Not all the time, but some of the time and I remember early in Sept we were the only group in the restaurant and we were sitting after golfing, in deep conversation about life and how the game went. My friend jumped up and ran over to the bar, where the waitress was getting our drinks, and said, “Please turn up the music, this is my favorite song.” She did.  My friend jumped with glee and then started dancing and singing to the song.

Just before this event, we were talking about how we all hoped we would never grow old and be like a great many seniors who are jaded and bitter at the hand life has dealt them. We agreed that this would not happen to any of us.

Now I have distorted the image, but I hope I can keep the spirit that my friend shows alive until I am ready to depart this planet. Life is good, make the best of any situation, and play like my friends and I do on occasion.

Let the music play

I was watching the children (ages 3 to 7) running around the yard as I was setting up the food to be barbecued. A young man, who is getting married in a few months came over and said, “Wow, I thought that children don’t know how to play anymore. I thought that they were all tied to their screens, and don’t know how to amuse themselves.  I am amazed that these children are playing.”

I stopped what I was doing and watched for a while, the children were playing a variation of hide and seek and tag. They looked like they were having a good time.

A while later, I went into the house and heard a form of music coming from the front room. Many of our guests were musicians and there were a number of guitars, banjos and bongo drums in the living room, awaiting the adults to start a jam session. While the children decided to create their own music and told me with excitement that they had formed a band. I asked them to play a song and they did, it was full of excitement and noise, and there was not one note of harmony but they were very serious and shrieked with delight when I and the other adults applauded.

Children of all ages love music, and the music speaks to all of us. A 2016 study at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute found that musical experiences in childhood can actually accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills. No great melodies or harmonies were created that day, but the sounds that were created came from the heart. These children played and sang and they appeared to enjoy playing and singing just to be playing and singing. They aren’t self-conscious about their ability and most are eager to let their music roar. As we watched we could see that they were trying very hard to use rhythms with a definite beat.

If adults get out of the way, children will play, they will take advantage of the things in their surroundings and figure out what to do and they will make up games. Picking up an instrument can also help children break out of their social shell. The children did not know each other and I sensed that by picking up and becoming involved in creating a musical group or ensemble, they were learning important life skills. I watched as a leader emerged, and how they helped each other. They were learning to relate to others, how to work as a team and appreciate the rewards that come from working together, and the development of leadership skills and discipline.

The children enjoyed themselves, and while some of the adults were amazed that the children could play without a screen, proud parents watched and listened to the joy of the music created in the moment by their children.