If you live alone, if your family is scattered far and wide, if you recently lost a partner or spouse, if you can’t afford the plane...
Home Alone
If you live alone, if your family is scattered far and wide, if you recently lost a partner or spouse, if you can’t afford the plane fare to visit family or to enjoy a holiday escape, you may be feeling miserable and lonely, making [...]
Pat Taub
Ram Dass6
Wrestling with Ego
This past weekend I was visited by my brother and his wife, who are doing their best to live fully with my brother’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis. After they drove away, and I reflected on their visit, I was struck by how many times I passed judgment for my brother’s difficulty restraining his hyper-behavior and for my sister-in-law’s [...]
Pat Taub
Facing My Fears of Death
About seven months ago my beloved younger brother phoned to inform me he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He assured me he was accepting of his diagnosis, adding that he and his wife had applied for companion-assisted suicide at the point when his memory loss makes it difficult for him to function. Once I got over the shock of my brother’s [...]
Pat Taub
The Wisdom Path
The writer, Lily Iona MacKenzie admits that she finds aging hard, but when asked if there are advantages to being an older woman, Lily offers a big smile, followed by the response, “I get to celebrate my wisdom.” But what if one is having trouble accessing her wisdom? For help in getting on the wisdom path, I’ve compiled responses [...]
Pat Taub
Practicing Forgiveness Is a Game Changer
Forgiveness is especially meaningful late in life. This is the time to wipe the slate clean, to do away with emotional baggage that prevents us from living in the moment. To quote Ram Dass: “The role of elders is to move away from ego into soul.” What could be better for the soul than to practice forgiveness? You might ask: “How [...]
Pat Taub
Aging With Eyes Wide Open
There seem to be three basic ways most of us adapt to aging: with our eyes shut, with our eyes half open, or with our eyes wide open. The first group consists of those in denial about aging, like women who protest, “Don’t ever call me old!” The second group is where most of us fall; some days we acknowledge our aging and plan for [...]
Pat Taub
A Self-Care Skeptic
I had a lousy week. I fractured my foot. I was freaked out by the more-depressing-than-usual headlines of amped-up hate speech, of an American journalist being brutally murdered by the Saudis, of rampant voter suppression and on and on. There seemed to be no end to bad news. To lift my spirits I tried the familiar self-care suggestions. [...]
Pat Taub