the juicy years

Recently I developed and facilitated two Writing Groups for Elders in my local community.   I believed it was important for them to  explore topics and emotions that might normally remain hidden, for healing in their 3rd Chapter. To  hear others' stories and realise that they are not alone.   beginnings . . . I set about creating a safe container for these feelings and stories to flow, in a non-judgmental way, where they could feel safe in sharing their life if they chose to.   T hey also had the opportunity to practise writing more creatively. The feedback from participants has been encouraging, and positive. And I am grateful for their trust in me, in each other, and their own process.   One said she "liked the topics and themes that you suggested for us and the quotes and poems were a bonus...I loved the warm feeling that was created in the group and I think one of the reasons for this was the way we were led into some deep little reces...

I shared a memory with a friend recently, on Facebook. It was a photo of us 20 years ago that evoked a feeling of shared joy. But she also commented that she'd like to "turn back the clock". That started me thinking about how life would be, even if we turned the clock back 10 years, to pre FB.  How might we be using these hours in a way that nurtures us more deeply? The time that social media has snatched from us? And who would we be without our technology? Michael Harris, in his book “ The End of Absence ” suggests that soon enough people will struggle to remember life before the Internet.  Would we be more engaged in our local community? Be more able to churn out that book, or paint more pictures? So how do we extract ourselves, even a little, for fear of losing our seemingly community of 'friends'. Many would have withdrawal symptoms. The longest offline time for me was a week.  Michael goes on to say "And today’s rarest...