Did Michelangelo really believe that his life had been wasted because he failed to pursue a spiritual goal? Yes, he did believe that and wrote about in his journal in later life. Nonetheless, his later works are an astounding example of what critics would later call the “late style” and “late freedom.” Here […]
THE RIPENING IN US
Posted on by James Woodward
When grapes turn to wine, they long for our ability to change. When stars wheel around the North Pole, they are longing for our growing consciousness. Wine got drunk with us, not the other way. The body developed out of us, not we from it. We […]
And what of our old age?
Posted on by James Woodward
From a lecture given 17th October 2012 Chichester WHAT ARE OLDER PEOPLE FOR? The profit motive, the mass media’s love affair with the new, and the anxiety provoked by growing old in a youth obsessed culture have led millions to surrender their faces to the war on wrinkles. We are being asked to unmake what […]
The Pleasures of Ageing?
Posted on by James Woodward
JAMES HILLMAN: “Suppose we all lived to be 125, or 185; how would we live? It’s a frightening idea, because it’s a deep denial of something fundamental to the human experience… Life extension isn’t even enough as a goal. [Scientists] want to prevent dying, to say that dying isn’t really necessary to the […]
Growing great?
Posted on by James Woodward
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” -Greek proverb
GRACE APPROACHING
Posted on by James Woodward
There is a grace approaching that we shun as much as death, it is the completion of our birth. It does not come in time, but in timelessness when the mind sinks into the heart and we remember. It is an insistent grace that draws us to the edge and beckons us surrender safe territory […]
UnMasking Age
Posted on by James Woodward
Unmasking Age: The significance of age for social research Social Research Bill Bytheway Policy Press 2011 When the history of social gerontology is written, the chapter devoted to the contribution of individual researchers to the field, will certainly feature Bill Bytheway. This book is a brilliant overview of age. It is readable, stimulating and […]
Time and Age – some more questions!
Posted on by James Woodward
Is it absurd to suggest that the tick of the clock is relevant to understanding age? Picture it: a landscape, a family enjoying a picnic, rolling hills in the distance; Can you think of an equivalent timescape? How routine is your daily life? Do you think it is becoming more routine as you grow […]
How Old do you think I am?
Posted on by James Woodward
Try this out for a starter if you want to reflect in Age! Do you feel age masks ‘the real you’? When did you last take a hard look at yourself in the mirror? Do you look your age? Do you feel your age?
Spirituality and Personhood in Dementia
Posted on by James Woodward
‘SPIRITUALITY AND PERSONHOOD IN DEMENTIA’ Edited by Albert Jewell, Jessica Kingsley publishers 2011 ISBN: 978-1-84905-154-5 Albert Jewell is a skilled researcher and together with his knowledge of the field of ageing, a third book has been published exploring what happens to an individual (and community) in the face of dementia. Jewell […]
CARE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Posted on by James Woodward
“The only thing that can save us as a species is seeing how we’re not thinking about future generations in the way we live. What’s lacking is generativity, a generativity that will promote positive values in the lives of the next generation. Unfortunately, we set the example of greed, wanting a bigger and […]
Beatitudes for the Ageing
Posted on by James Woodward
Blessed are those who have the courage to do nothing. They demonstrate to us a different level of living for one another. Blessed are those who no longer expect anything and yet are able to smile. God’s goodness is shining through them. Blessed are those who are able to listen without harping on the same […]
We continue to fail older people
Posted on by James Woodward
Councils cut back on free adult social care Some authorities say they have no option but to cut one of their biggest areas of spending The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services study found just 26 out of 148 councils would fund people in “moderate” or “low” need, down from 41. The moves follow […]
Growing Older?
Posted on by James Woodward
The first fifty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it. -Arthur Schopenhauer
How do we look after the vulnerable in our ‘Big Society’?
Posted on by James Woodward
This isnt going to be the easiest weeks for many people. What a strange and perplexing world we live in – a Big Society accepting the inevitability of cuts. The following research should give us all soem cause for concern. Some councils in England fear budget pressures will hit care services which help elderly and […]
Leadership and Listening?
Posted on by James Woodward
………… it is significant that our English word for ‘obedience’ is derived from two Latin words -ob and audire- which mean to ‘listen keenly’. As Bill Kirkpatrick observes in his book The Creativity of Listening, listening has three meanings: The first is to hear; the second is like the meaning of the French ‘connaitre’ – […]
I Look Into My Glass
Posted on by James Woodward
I look into my glass, And view my wasted skin, And say, ‘Would God it came to pass My heart had shrunk as thin!’ For then I, undistrest By hearts grown cold to me, Could lonely wait my endless rest With equanimity. But Time, to make me grieve, Part steals, lets part abide; And […]
In memory of W.B. Yeats
Posted on by James Woodward
Earth, receive an honoured guest: William Yeats is laid to rest. Let the Irish vessel lie Emptied of its poetry. … Follow, poet, follow right To the bottom of the night, With your unconstraining voice Still persuade us to rejoice; With the farming of a verse Make a vineyard of the curse, Sing of […]
Befriend the Older stranger in yourself?
Posted on by James Woodward
In a science museum, there is one exhibit in particular which attracted long lines of children: “Face Ageing”. A child sits down in front of an automatic camera and has their portrait taken. They wait and their digitized bust appears on a TV. monitor. Then, tapping a button like a VCR remote, each child could […]
When will we learn to care for our older people?
Posted on by James Woodward
Patients can apply for NHS funding through the continuing care system Vulnerable elderly people are being unfairly forced to pay for health care, the new chairman of the House of Commons health committee says. Stephen Dorrell said patients with conditions such as dementia used to get free care in NHS geriatric hospitals. But the […]