June 30, 2009 – Volume 2, Issue #26

Quote to ponder under the apple tree

I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing they've come up with so far.
~ Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927)

Resources to bite into

1. Born on the 4th of July *

Playwright Neil Simon has written hundreds of quotable lines, but today I particularly want to pass on his encouragement to believe in yourself and follow your bliss:
Don't listen to those who say, you’re taking too big a chance. Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today. Most important, don't listen when the little voice of fear inside you rears its ugly head and says, “They’re all smarter than you out there. They're more talented, they're taller, blonder, prettier, luckier, and they have connections.” I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and cooperation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts . . . chances are you'll be a person worthy of your own respect.”

2. Celebrating Independence *

The current Brain Aerobics Weekly has an exercise in comparing statistics between Canada and the U.S. because far too many Americans are appallingly ignorant of our northern neighbor, and because Canada Day is July 1st and American Independence Day is July 4th. Moreover, all of the following countries also celebrate their independence in July: Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Burundi, Ghana, Kiribati, Malawi, Peru, Rwanda and Venezuela.

3. Today is the 150th anniversary of Charles Blondin’s claim to fame *

Frenchman Jean-Francois Gravelet who went by the stage name Charles Blondin, first walked a tightrope across Niagara Falls on June 30, 1859 – 150 years ago – at the age of 35. It was a feat that he would repeat an incredible 17 times, with each crossing more daring than the previous one: Once he crossed the falls while blindfolded, once on stilts. Another time he carried his manager, Harry Colcord, on his back. Once he carried a small stove on his back, stopped at the middle of the rope and prepared himself an omelet, which he then ate as his amazed audience watched. He performed these risky feats until he was 74, then died peacefully in his sleep at 75.

* These items are easily adapted when working with people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Tips/ideas/insights to savor *

In my book, Getting to Know the Life Stories of Older Adults: Activities for Building Relationships, and in my workshops, one of my favorite exercises is “Make a Choice” in which I ask people to define themselves as one of two things. For example, “Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?” One of the most telling questions is “Are you more like a rose or a daisy?” because in their answers people usually describe characteristics they like about themselves, such as being cheerful and sunny for daisies and a more complex mixture of beauty and thorns for roses. It’s a great way to get to know people’s personal values. I adapted this activity in the current Brain Aerobics Weekly as an imaginative exercise that provides the opportunity to define yourself as a variety of flora from fruits, nuts, vegetables and flowers to the following two examples:

Describe yourself as a garden. What are its predominant features? Are you:
weedy or well-manicured?
full of blooming flowers and ripe vegetables or paved over?
adorned with whimsical gnomes or a labyrinth for serious meditation?
Or? ? ? and always say why

Describe yourself as a tree.
Are you evergreen or deciduous?
In what climate do you grow best?
Do you bear fruit or nuts? What kind?
Do you serve another purpose? What is it?
What are the characteristics of this tree that you share?

To order my book Getting to Know the Life Stories of Older Adults: Activities for Building Relationships, click here.
The first example above is adapted from the game Imaginiff. To order, click here.

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