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2/7/01 |
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We
feel sorry for senior citizens these days.
So much of the recent election focused on the health care "crisis"
for the elderly, that a lot of fixed-incomers were scared into thinking
that being sick and stuck without medication is all that their later years
hold in store for them. While
health coverage is a practical problem for most Americans, it seems that
today’s senior citizens were the unfortunate victims of politicians in
need of a cause. We would like
to take this platform as The Spiritual Chicks to offer an alternative point
of view. Spirituality
is all about tapping into the creative power---the power that allows us to
take an idea and make it happen. When
we focus our attention on an idea, we give life to it, whether we mean to
or not. Focus your attention
on what you want, and you can lead a pretty fulfilling life.
Focus your attention on what you don’t want (either by fearing
it, or worrying about it) and you have Murphy’s Law (whatever can go
wrong, will). Today’s senior citizens got caught in a battle of negative
focus. In the fear over who
will pay for prescription drugs, no one was able to step back and say,
"why do we assume that seniors are helpless folk, destined to be
ignored by the rest of society?"
What does that say about our collective image of our aging
population? Senior citizens need to believe in the value of their wisdom and experience, for only from this vantage point can they find solutions that empower their demographic, and release them from the victim status promulgated by the recent political battle. But don’t sit around waiting for the AARP to take control. Start adopting this attitude as best you can in your own life and see what happens. Maybe you’ll end up meeting a healthy, active senior who will inspire you, maybe you’ll inspire a compassionate gen-X'er to lobby Washington for the future health of all Americans, or maybe you’ll just be so busy doing what you want that you won’t have time to be sick. |
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SM & Copyright © 2001 K. Weissman & T. Coyne |
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