Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Mature Conversation About Aging


I continue to be amazed by the level of excitement and interest generated by a good question. In my coaching practice and in the classroom I use questions to provoke discussion or thinking outside the box.  But not until recently have I become aware that I too have a need for discuaaion and conversation and sharing of wisdom around topics related to my own aging process.

Depending on the situation people come up to me and ask," Where can I go to have a mature conversation about growing older?" or "Where can I find people that share my desire to age differently?" or "How can I pass on my accumulated wisdom?" I usually don't have a very helpful response as there is no right answer, however, it has made me think which has led a few of us to start a peer group to have these kind of conversations we can't have with family or other friends.

Our group is using the guidelines laid out in Cynthia Trenshaw's little pamphlet "A Harvest of Years: A PeerSpirit Guide for Proactive Aging Circles" available from PeerSpirit.  What is unique about Cynthia's process is that there is not one leader but we are all responsible for the success of the group. I love that idea and I will let you know how we progress.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi david, this is Linda oconnor, friend of ken and part of the writing group,
anyway--i am so excited to finally connect with people in Oregon who i can talk to and explore with.
I will be back the last week of sept, and want to continue to explore and maybe get some clarity of my journey.
thanks for being there.

thanks and look foeward to seeing you ---sometime.i