Seedlings

Star Trek, Cadet James Kirk and the Kobayashi Maru Scenario

“Man’s mind stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimensions” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Kobayashi Maru scenario was the most challenging of Starfleet Academy's training exercises.  You may recall how this test forced cadets into making what was considered a no-win decision — rescuing a disabled ship in enemy territory while risking their own ship and crew, or leaving the disabled ship, thus ensuring its crew's destruction and starting a war.

Young James Kirk was the only cadet who ever won the war game.  He did so through his out-of-the-box, positive thinking.  Kirk’s rejection of the possibility of the no-win scenario is a model for inoculating ourselves, and our children and grandchildren, against learned helplessness.

It is very easy for any of us to fall into thinking and feeling we are trapped by our current circumstances.   Unfortunately, it is much more difficult for us to shed the gravitational force of learned helplessness.

I recently read the autobiography of a man who was considered one of the finest constitutional scholars in the U.S.   I was startled to learn he struggled in elementary school.  The third and fourth grades were particularly difficult for him.  His fourth grade teacher would insist on grading tests out loud and then announced the results in front of the entire class.  If there were 20 questions, this fourth grader usually got 15 wrong and placed at the bottom of his class.  But then he fell under the influence of Miss Pearl Schaefer, a fifth grade teacher whose love, confidence and challenge helped this young boy discover the joy of learning.  The rest is history. He went on to become a superb law student, a law professor at the University of Chicago, president of a major university and much more. 

How can you and I become Pearl Schaefers?  Not just for fifth graders, but for anyone we come in contact with who is struggling with learned helplessness?

“If you're going to be passionate about something, be passionate about learning. If you're going to fight something, fight for those in need. If you're going to question something, question authority.  If you're going to lose something, lose your inhibitions.  If you're going to gain something, gain respect and confidence. And if you're going to hate something, hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams.” - Daniel Golston

Finish First or Finish Well? – The Joys of Relational Persistence

"What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it" - Alexander Graham Bell 

I recently purchased a copy of William J. Bennett’s book, The Children’s Book of Virtues, and one of its stories I love to read my grandchildren is the fable of the tortoise and the hare.  You will remember that the persistent effort of the tortoise paid off in attaining the finish line while the much fleeter hare was enjoying slumber along the trail.

From Pennsylvania to Utah I’ve tried to help my grandchildren understand that no matter how talented we are, persistence is a key ingredient for success in any endeavor we tackle.

 The virtue of persistence also applies to the efforts of parents and grandparents to build meaningful connections with our progeny.  The father who takes one afternoon off to attend a daughter’s or son’s school or extracurricular activity has made a great initial deposit in his “relationship account” but won’t achieve as much impact as is possible through persistent commitment to make it back for every performance or game.

Persistence pays off. 

If you have been guilty, as was I, of not being as persistent in building connections with my children as I wish I had, don’t punish yourself but take comfort in this wisdom:

"Our greatest glory lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall" - unknown

As Charles Kettering, one of the great inventors of the 20^th Century, says:

“Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress”

There is a wonderful opportunity lying ahead of each us: the opportunity to strengthen our relational connections.  Kettering reminds us, “I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.”  We can stumble into a life of relational significance through our persistence.  Your children and grandchildren won’t care if you finish first; but they will be forever grateful when you strive to put them first in your list of priorities.

 

"Where does persistence fit in? Persistent action follows commitment — that is, you first must be committed to something before you’ll persist to achieve it. Once you’ve made a commitment to achieve your goal, then you’ll follow through with relentless determination and action until you attain the desired result" - Jeff Keller

Looking Back At Mother’s Day - The Reverse Gift Opportunity

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” - Albert Schweitzer

In a recent post I stressed the powerful opportunity we all have to reflect on the gifts our mothers have given us.  Today, however, I want to suggest to mothers a way in which they can give a gift which will last long after their deaths.  I call this the “Reverse Gift Opportunity”.

A few years ago I was explaining to a client how she could leave a memorandum which would designate whom she wanted to receive her jewelry and other collectibles and keepsakes.  She responded:

“I have such beautiful jewelry and I want to make sure that I don't leave the girls in a position where they might fight over our heirlooms.  And, you know I'm wondering if I could leave the letter I would like to leave to the girls with that memo."

"What kind of letter do you have in mind?" I asked her. 

"Well," she responded, "I just feel like I have to leave a letter to each of my girls like my mother left to me.  You see my dad abandoned us before I was a year old.  My mother did the best job she could to raise me.  But I never saw my dad...don't even remember him and never had any desire to try to find him.  But just after I turned nine my mother died from a terminal illness.  I was forced to live with my grandmother and those were miserable years.  My heart ached for my mother and my grandmother seemed so mean.  I was sure my mother would never approve of all the strict rules my grandmother imposed on me.  By the time I was 14 I was doing everything my grandmother didn't want me to do just to spite her:  I ran with the wrong crowd, didn't do my homework, skipped school frequently, and really was plotting to run away from my grandmother's home.”

“On the morning of my 16^th birthday my grandmother greeted me with a ‘Happy Birthday Karen’ and handed me an envelope.  At first I thought it was from my grandmother but fortunately I looked at the cover and noticed what I thought was my name addressed in my mother's handwriting.  Instead of throwing the envelope away as I had initially intended, I opened it up.  And, there was a handwritten letter of three pages.  In it my mother said something like this:

Dearest Karen,

I've asked your grandmother to deliver this letter to you on your sixteenth birthday.  How I wished I could have lived to see you blow out those 17 candles on your birthday cake on this day.  There are so many things, Karen, that I wanted to do with you.  I wanted to be there to see you walk down the commencement ceremony at your high school graduation in your cap and gown.  I wanted to drive you to College and help you get situated in your dorm.  I wanted to be there when you graduated from College.  I wanted to give you away at your wedding.  I wanted to be there when you brought your first baby home from the hospital..."

By this time Karen was overcome by emotion and even I was reaching for the kleenex box.  When she regained her composure Karen finished the story.  "This letter changed my life.  I suddenly had a reason to be the person my mother had dreamed I would be rather than the person I felt my grandmother was forcing me to be.  I changed my friends.  I began to study and do my homework.  My grades improved immediately and I was able to get a scholarship to a couple of colleges.  I met Charles while a junior at college and went on to earn my college degree.  We got married and have two beautiful daughters.  All the things that my mother dreamed for me have come true."

So it was that night I learned how a letter from the grave, or at least a letter delivered years after the writer's death, could have had such a powerful transformative impact on the life of a child.  Since then I've always tried to share what I have called the “Nine Year Old Orphan’s Letter” idea with the parents of minor children. 

Today, I want to suggest that every mother on Mother’s Day should consider writing a letter to her children and grandchildren.  In these letters or notes you could share your feelings about:

A time when you were a child and you made me so proud

The memories I have of your birth and how grateful I am that you came into my life

My hopes and dreams for your future and how precious the days and hours are that I get to spend with you

If your child is young, all the hopes and dreams I have of things I will be able to do with you and witness in your life

Why I feel like I won the Child Lottery and am the luckiest parent in the whole wide world

What are the traditions, holiday celebrations and rituals you most hope that your children and grandchildren will perpetuate in their lives and what are some of your favorite memories of your time with your child during one of those holidays, rituals or traditions

Don’t just write these letters or notes but read them to your child or grandchild in person, if possible, or over the phone if they live a great distant from you.  Let them hear the emotion behind the words.  And then most importantly, preserve those letters and notes after you have delivered them.

"The great art of giving consists in this: the gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be the more highly appreciated." - Baltasar Gracian

 

A Joyful Life – A Mother’s Gift to Her Daughter

“To live joyfully you must be brave. True joy is not for the fainthearted. You must decide to be happy. Joy is an act of courage. Joy will not abide until you make a conscious decision to treasure it… Gratitude is the gateway to joy” - Elaine Marshall

Sometimes an encounter with another human being can be the spark that ignites a powerful and sustaining fire in us.  Parents too often don’t realize that their most powerful influence might come many years after their child has left the nest.

A story Elaine Marshall told in her 2004 address entitled In This Life I Shall Have Joy describes how a mother’s generative words would rekindle her daughter’s soul and lead to a life transforming attitude shift.  Elaine and her mother had volunteered to work at a niece’s wedding reception.  Elaine had been busy putting pink mints on glass plates while her mother and aunt were laboring in the kitchen.  When Elaine returned to the kitchen she overheard a conversation between her mother and her aunt.  She stopped out of their sight and eavesdropped on their conversation about her.  Here is Elaine’s description of how her mother’s words, spoken at a very difficult moment in Elaine’s life, would have a powerful impact on the way Elaine would live the rest of her life:

“The organdy lace wedding apron was barely holding my soul together. I was quietly just hanging on spiritually and emotionally. It was a time in my life of little joy. My mother and her sister were talking…together nearby. I heard my aunt ask my mother, “How is Elaine?” Mom responded, “I believe she has made a decision to be happy. She has a garden and flowers in her yard. She sews and writes, and she works hard. She keeps a clean house and plays beautiful music. Her children are doing well. I think she has decided to be brave and to be happy.”

I wept a few tears as I eavesdropped on my mother’s conversation. I was lonely, tired, and grief stricken. I didn’t know if I had made a conscious decision to be happy. But hearing my mother’s hopeful description of me, I wanted it to be true. So I did decide to be happy. I decided that night to find joy in every day. It has been difficult. But I was brave. I am not so brave every day, but I do try to remember that joy is a decision that requires courage.”

Have you made a conscious decision to be happy and to live a joy-Full life? 

Have you thought about a way in which you might record and share encouraging words which will lift and sustain another?  What if Elaine had not walked in at the moment her mother was speaking those words?  Could Elaine’s mother have written something similar in a note or letter and wouldn’t that have had as powerful an impact?

"In order to know joy, you have to be there. Joy requires presence. My friends know that if I were not too stingy to buy personalized vanity license plates for my car, I would choose my favorite word. The word is vivace. Vivace is an Italian word used in music. It sounds like music. It means life, lively, quickening. It sounds alive. It reminds me to wake up, to be acute and sensitive, alert, alive. It means vitality, la joie de vivre, vibrance, vigor. It reminds me to touch the palpable gift and reality of life" - Elaine Marshall

Honoring Our Mothers – Pausing to Remember Our Mother’s Greatest Gift(s) to Us

“Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into flame by an encounter with another human being.  Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light”—Albert Schweitzer, 1952 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Mother’s Day is Mother’s Day; not Mothers’ Day.  Notice the emphasis on the singular Mother.  It is a day to honor our Mother.  Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have carried us in the womb, labored and travailed to give us physical life.  And for those of us who were adopted, we can be twice grateful: grateful for the gift of life and for the gift of a mother’s nurturing love.

Mother’s Day is a near universal holiday.  While it isn’t celebrated on the same day of the year throughout the world, almost all cultures today have an official day to reflect on and remember the gifts which our mothers have bestowed on us.

In the Arab world Mother’s Day is celebrated on March 21^st.  An Egyptian journalist, Mustafa Amin, is credited with starting this practice in the Muslim nations.  Amin became motivated to promote the idea of a holiday to honor mothers when he heard the story of a widowed mother who devoted her whole life to raising her son.  The son became a doctor, married, and abandoned his mother without showing any gratitude.

Each of us should pause and reflect, not just on the official day set aside to commemorate our mother, but throughout the year on the many ways in which our mother has influenced our lives.  In a sermon on this Mother’s Day I heard the suggestion we try to remember the most significant gift or influence our mother gave us.

What flashed into my mind in that moment was a project I was working on when I was probably in the third or fourth grade.  It was a project for a geography lesson.  We were supposed to make a map using salt dough.  We would color the map with blue for major rivers and large lakes, mountain ranges would be shaded in browns and large forests in green.  We were encouraged to put tiny figures for cows and horses where there were ranches, tractors where there were corn and wheat farms, and a star where the state capitol was located.  As I recall I was supposed to illustrate the State of Texas.   

My mother took the recipe for salt dough which my teacher had provided and prepared a generous supply of salt dough and the cardboard on which I would construct my map of Texas.  I worked well past my bed time and had just about completed my map when something went terribly wrong.  I don’t remember today just what it was.  I think it may have been a spill of the food coloring which was used to color code the map.  In any event I suffered an emotional melt-down when I saw that my almost perfect map was going to be much less than perfect.  In my frustration I pounded on the map doing much more damage than the spill of the food coloring and burst into sobs.

My mother tried to console me and assured me that she could fix the damage I had done.  My parents put me to bed.  I don’t know how late it was but I suspect it was at least an hour or two later than my normal bed-time and we had been working on this project for three or four hours.

When I arose the next morning my mother, perhaps with some help from my father, had reconstructed the map.  She had started over and tried to redo the whole map.  The second version was much better than the first and I proudly carried it to school the next morning.  I had never reflected until this Mother’s Day on just how late my mother must have stayed up to repair the damage my temper tantrum had done.  I feel deep emotion rolling up inside me today as I contemplate how powerful an energy source at that late hour of the night a mother’s love for her child is.

What was your mother’s greatest gift to you?  What positive influence from your mother is still felt in your life today? 

As you reflect on that greatest gift, and on your mother’s love and positive emotional energy in your life, record those feelings and describe the story of your mother’s gift and influence.  You, and those who are privileged to read this story, will always be grateful you took the time to pause and reflect. It will be a legacy that can last well beyond the grave.

My mother said to me, "If you become a soldier, you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up as the Pope." Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso—Pablo Picasso

The Opportunity to Become a Bridge Builder

More Wisdom and Inspiration around the Spirit Underlying the Gift of a Life Cairn

“Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.”—Tolkein

 

As we contemplate Tolkein’s wisdom,   we are reminded we don’t control the storms and adversity which will come into the lives of those we love.  But we can make sure we are committed to “uprooting” the weeds in the world so we will leave better fields for our children and grandchildren to cultivate. 

Years ago I ran into the following poem by Will Allen Dromgoole entitled “The Bridge Builder.”  I believe it reflects the spirit underlying the “Gift of a Life Cairn” opportunity which I wrote about earlier this week. 

 

THE BRIDGE BUILDER

By Will Allen Dromgoole

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide -
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

Why wait until eventide to build the bridges which will help your family?  Starting now, how can you leave wisdom cairns behind to help those who follow in your footsteps?

The Gift of a Life Cairn

How  the Rocks in Our Path Can Leave a Trail For Those Who Come Behind Us

 

“Some individuals leave trails of gloom; others, trails of joy.
Some leave trails of hate and bitterness; others, trails of love and harmony.
Some leave trails of cynicism and pessimism; others trails of faith and optimism.
Some leave trails of criticism and resignation; others trails of gratitude and hope.  What kind of trails do you leave”—William Arthur Ward

 

A friend of mine began jogging up the Emerald Trail near Rocky Mountain National Park.  The trail was difficult because of altitude and compounded by loose rock.  Grady finally reached a sign which read: “Emerald Trail Maintenance Ends.”  There was an additional warning that anyone who proceeded beyond that point did so at their own risk.  Grady looked up to the top of the peak.  At first he couldn’t see a trail to follow.  But then he spotted small, often pyramidal shaped, piles of rocks and realized they were “cairns” marking the easiest path to the summit.  

As Grady moved past each pile of rocks he felt gratitude for those who had blazed the trail before him and who had both the vision and compassion to realize how they might make the ordeal of climbing this peak so much easier for those who will follow in their footsteps.  They did so through the simple act of collecting some of those loose rocks which made the climb more difficult and placing them in a conspicuous pile.

 

How can we help those who will follow in our footsteps?  What might we do to make their life path easier?  Recording both your life successes and the insights you gained by climbing above your most painful mistakes can be the “Gift of a Life Cairn” for each member of your family who will hear your voice or read your words. 

“Written or recorded reflections of our life wisdom and experiences, encrusted with the beauty of our words of love, appreciation and faith in their goodness and potential, are the only riches our posterity cannot squander”—John A. Warnick

 

“Books are the compasses and telescopes and sextants and charts which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous seas of human life”--Unknown

 

The Privilege of Necessity

“We learn by going where we need to go.” - Theodore Roethke

Have you ever paused to ponder how grateful we might feel for necessity?  Sometimes, as Roethke suggests, doors of understanding open because our paths appear to be blocked and we have to confront a dilemma.  The path of progress is lit most clearly by persistently asking both “why” and “why not?”

Everyone who has visited Florence has seen the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Duomo (Dome in Italian).  The Duomo, capped by the first large dome to be built in the Renaissance, offers powerful lessons on the enduring power of faith and vision.  No one knew how to build such a huge dome when construction began on the Basilica.

When design work on the Basilica started in 1294 it was intended to be the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world.  After more than a century of work, all of the cathedral’s structure, except for the enormous hole in the ceiling, was completed.

The series of architects who had overseen the construction of the Basilica had never come up with plans for how the dome would be completed.  By architectural standards of that time, a dome of such great size would collapse under its own weight.  In fact, some large medieval cathedrals, such as Beauvois, had collapsed during their construction. 

In 1418 a design competition was launched to select the plan and architect who would attempt to complete the Duomo.  Brunelleschi’s suggestion of first building a smaller dome to support the structure of the larger dome was accepted.  This and many other unknown and unorthodox methods for construction were developed.  The great octagonal dome was completed in 1436.  It became the prototype for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and every other large dome built during that era. The Duomo became the most prominent symbol of the dawning of the Renaissance.

The necessity of finishing the Duomo was what fueled Brunelleschi’s creativity.  The building of such a massive masonry dome posed many technical problems.   A modern understanding of physical laws and the mathematical tools for calculating stresses was centuries into the future. Brunelleschi had to rely on intuition and whatever he could learn from the large scale models he built.  While he looked to the architectural successes of the past, such as the Pantheon, he was forced to come up with creative solutions for the unique design and construction problems of the present.  For example, to lift 37,000 tons of material, which included over 4 million bricks, he invented hoisting machines.  To deal with the challenges of stresses and fresh mortar, he came up with a herringbone design for the placement of the bricks.

The next time you face the daunting wall of necessity reflect on the wonderful breakthroughs that are possible when we scale that obstacle.   Pause to remember the story of those who set out to erect the world’s largest cathedral yet had no idea how they were going to cover its dome.  Fuel your efforts with the faith and hope which spring from approaching necessity as a privilege rather than a burden.

How can I harness the power of necessity?  What am I doing that will deprive my children or grandchildren of the opportunity to experience the privilege of necessity?

“Restlessness is discontent, and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.” - Thomas A. Edison

Howling Your Way to Success

What Ray Charles Can Teach Us About Converting Grief and Mistakes Into Positive Emotional Catalysts

 

“You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there"—Edwin Louis-Cole

 

Ray Charles was a howling success as a human being and musician. 

 

But many people don’t know the tragic story of his childhood.  Later in life Ray Charles had to battle his way through addiction and dysfunctional relationships.  But in his struggle to overcome the demons in his life he discovered an important principle about letting our feelings inform and guide our behavior.  I call that principle “Howling Our Way to Success.”

 

Ray Charles Robinson was born to sharecropper parents in Albany Georgia.  When he was five his younger brother drowned in a washtub despite Ray’s efforts to save him.  That same year Ray began to realize he was losing his eyesight.  By the time he was seven he was totally blind.  Shortly thereafter he was institutionalized at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.  At the age of fourteen his mother passed away and three years later his father died as well.

 

In his autobiography he described his mother’s death as “the most devastating thing in my whole experience—bar nothing, period.  From that moment on, I was completely in another world.  I couldn’t eat.  I couldn’t sleep—I was totally out of control.  The big problem was I couldn’t cry.  I couldn’t get the sorrow out of my system and that made things worse.”

 

Ma Beck was an elderly friend of the Charles family.  She saw how despondent and withdrawn Ray had become.  She took him aside and told him that his mother had prepared him to be independent and would have wanted him to carry on with his life.  That day was the first time that Ray allowed himself to cry.  He “howl(ed) like a tiny infant, crying for all the pain that had been stored up, crying for the loss and...the sweet memories Mama had given me.”  That was the day that Ray began to “howl his way to success.”

 

He developed an ability to let his sorrow manifest itself in his music.  Howling screams became his musical trademark.

 

The gift that Ma Beck gave Ray—the permission to cry and to turn his grief into growth—was, in Ray’s own words, “strangely enough, extraordinarily positive.  What I’ve accomplished since then, really grows out of my coming to terms with those events [the deaths of his mother and younger brother].”

 

Too often we expect perfection of ourselves and of our children and grandchildren.  The arrogance of perfection denies us the opportunity to view weaknesses and mistakes as potential opportunities for growth.  When we can, as Ray Charles did, convert tragedy and other negative emotions into self-awareness, it opens up the door for amazing personal growth.  We need to view our mistakes and emotional challenges as the positive catalysts that help us see what we should be doing differently.

 

Peter Drucker, the guru of management consulting, was fond of pointing out that both individuals and companies had to discover their own arrogance along their path to better management.  Is there something which you are dismissing as not being important in your emotional and relationship frameworks?  Is it possible that you are—in the same way Ray Charles did—attempting to bury an emotion rather than use it as a catalyst?

 

“Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.  Try to be better than yourself”—William Faulkner

CAN YOU TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

 

Some Encouraging Facts About the Power of Lifelong Learning

 

Creativity represents a miraculous coming together of the uninhibited energy of the child with its apparent opposite and enemy: the sense of order imposed by the disciplined adult intelligence – Norman Podhoretz

 

My father will turn 90 in a few months.  He is a marvelous example of a lifelong learner and teacher.  He was a researcher and university professor.  Just last summer he traveled to Australia to present a paper at an international gathering of the academic society he is a fellow in.  He belongs to and regularly attends the Athenaeum Society – a fellowship of lifelong learners who come together once a month to learn.  As I think of my father’s thirst for knowledge and wisdom, I return to the question I have used as the title for this blog:  can you teach an old dog new tricks?

 

How many of these statements are inevitable truths?

 

• Intelligence is a function of how many neurons you have and how fast those neurons work
• Older adults can’ learn as well as young people
• The brain cannot grow new brain cells
• Connections between brain neurons are relatively fixed throughout life

 

Actually each of these statements is false.  In his book The Mature Mind – The Positive Power of an Aging Brain, Dr. Gene D. Cohen reports on research over the last two decades which discovered:

 

• New brain cells form throughout life
• The brain is continually resculpting itself in response to our experiences and learning
• The brain’s emotional circuitry matures and becomes more balanced as we age
• The brain’s left and right hemispheres are more equally utilized by older adults

 

Dr. Cohen delivers the hopeful news that much of the decline in mental abilities formerly associated with aging is not caused by aging, per se, but by specific illnesses and diseases such as “microstrokes,” Alzheimer’s, and depression.  I strongly recommend Dr. Cohen’s book to you if you want to learn how to maximize the potential of the Mature Mind.  And, I would also encourage you to consider subscribing to Stephanie West Allen’s blog Brains on Purpose.  Stephanie reports almost daily on new breakthroughs in neuroscience and their application to everyday living.

 

Instead of thinking of the post-retirement years as a steady decline, both physically and mentally, I would suggest we should envision it as a long and gradual climb.  We can be so grateful for the technological and medical advances which allow older bodies and minds to remain vibrant and relevant.  How marvelous it is that we live in an age when elders aren’t just sharing wisdom but have so many opportunities to continue to learn, experience, share and preserve. 

 

Late in his life Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”  What is your vision for the future you will create in your “golden years?” 

 

The Best is Yet to Come!!!

 

“Your brain never stops developing and changing.  It’s been doing it from the time you were an embryo and will keep on doing it all your life.  And this ability, perhaps, represents its greatest strength.”—James Trefil, Ph.D., physicist and author of thirty books helping the public understand science