We cannot even begin to grasp what elders have to cope with when age takes its toll on the body; to have declining dexterity, vision and mobility problems, to be unable to open a drawer or button a blouse.
What could be more telling than the Preacher's picture of old age - the "days of trouble" - in Ecclesiastes 12:
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in themâ€â€” 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; 3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; 4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; 5 when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets.
Here is another resource shared with me: NOVELS ABOUT AGING
The Stone Angel Speaks: Listening to Older Women’s Voices Sage-ing with Creative Spirit, Grace & Gratitude || A Journal of the Arts & Aging Persimmon Tree
RESOURCES on the Spirit of Nature
Books
Berry, Thomas. Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community (edited by M. E. Tucker). Berkeley: The University of California Press, 2006. Berry, Wendell. A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997. Berkeley CA: Counterpoint Press, 1999. Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. New York: Mariner Books, 2002 (orig. 1962). Lane, Beldan. The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality. Oxford UK: Oxford University, 2007. Merton, Thomas. When the Trees Say Nothing (edited by K. Deignan). Notre Dame IN: Ave Maria Press, 2003. Strand, Clark. Seeds from a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey. Winnipeg MB: Hyperion, 1998. Suzuki, David. Sacred Balance. Vancouver BC: Greystone Books, 2007.
Websites National Senior Conservation Corps Age-Friendly Communities (UN guidelines for easy access to nature for all)
Special Thanks to a friend who researches information for me
What an interesting activity that could be... to get all your 'Oldies' to write (or have written for them) ...how being old feels for them!! We all talk about it with them.. but to actually put words on paper and then collate it all, might prove VERY interesting!( Jen. Tamborine Mt.)
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Enjoy meaningful activity ideas that you can use with your clients straight away.
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Carole Godde Recreational Activities Officer Australia
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in themâ€â€”
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
Some things don't change!