Monday, November 4, 2019

Acceptance

The Mystery within..

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Delia Owens’ novel Where the Crawdads Sing was discussed at book club tonight. Her story’s ending left us with a moral dilemma. I was a little surprised how quickly some came to judgment during our discussion. Life is not so black and white for me anymore. I have come to know its complexities and how differing experiences affect options and actions. I am grateful to know life is not so black and white anymore. 

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Seven inches of blowing snow piled up on this last day in October. This early snow just seemed wrong until Oliver and I walked to the woods late this afternoon. The snow had stopped and the wind moderated. The wood’s beauty was so unique with freshness and color. It could only have happen with soft October snow that stuck and contrasted on grey and black tree trunks supporting a bright yellow canopy of snow covered leaves. The wood’s beauty was humbling.

Friday, November 1, 2019

In my physically challenging physioball class this morning, I relayed an annoying experience I had on a recent visit to my clinic to get a stuffy ear checked out. A young nurse came to escort me to the exam room. She made an exaggerated point of telling me how very far down the hall I would have to walk. And when we reached the exam room she exclaimed, “Yeh! You made it!”  My exercise classmates wanted to know if I said something to her.  I said, “No, but I wanted to smack her.” And the class instructor said, “You could have said something to the doctor.”

Tonight I understand I still have a very long way to go in using my voice. I could have come up with a clever retort, or better yet, a heart centered reply of correction. Worst of all, before we made that long trek down the hall into the exam room the young nurse had introduced me to another nurse in training who was shadowing her that day. 

Life really is full of complexity and endless opportunities for learning how to use my voice.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Tonight I am aware that it isn’t possible to think of a heart centered response when you would like to smack someone. So I needed to back up and accept the young nurse did not understand how patronizing her words and tone of voice sounded to me. I am the one who needed empathy and compassion for her lack of awarenessPerhaps then I would have found kind words and I could have said, “I know you do not intend to sound patronizing, but my age has not yet handicapped me. And if it did, I would prefer you just walk with me at my pace and not make an issue of my physical limitations.”

Any other suggestions out there on a heart centered response I could have made to the young nurse who escorted me to the exam room?

Monday, November 4, 2019

Today in yoga we were encouraged to smile from our heart. I liked that and so does my heart. It made me recall a question I put to my instructor almost two years ago when I asked for one tip on “putting up with the other”.  My instructor said, “Breathe from your heart”. Maybe if I smile from my heart more it will be easier to breathe from my heart and then I can more easily learn to speak words of kind correction instead of wanting to smack someone. 







4 comments :

  1. Yeah, I get the little old lady treatment by medical people too. If they only knew! It started at work in my late 30’s. Once I was at Schlitz doing mindful walking, very slowly and deliberately. Some young whipper-snapper came along and said “Good for you, you can do it!” I mindfully noticed what I would have liked to do with my walking pole. You come up with any good ideas here let me know because we’re going to need them.

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    1. Tonight I am thinking it's a gift to be on the receiving end of discrimination--to get a mild dose of what so many others live with in the extreme base on race, religion, sex etc. I'll keep thinking about replies to ageism.

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  2. Love your thoughts on acceptance. i too think it is a matter of acceptance. Accept the reality that "we" are getting older and younger people have no clue as to what that is about. Accept they are where they are and we are where we are. Instead of smacking maybe do a little jovial laughing, out loud or just a little inward chuckling with the thought "isn't this interesting." Recognize, it comes with the territory with advanceing age, mispreceptions, discriminations. After all the nurse and people like her believe they are being encouraging. One day they will understand and get it. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)))

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  3. I love your story. Great suggestions. Makes me wonder what thoughtless things I do that diminish others.
    Thanks

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