Month: April 2024

Where I’m At

My eyes are going. My hearing is going, yet my mind is fine. I feel trapped; still, how long I will live is one of the questions to which there are no answers. Macular degeneration has only one outcome, so another unknown is how soon I will be completely blind. Thankfully, hearing is less of a problem since my hearing aids help.

When people say that aging is a blessing, I must strongly disagree. That, and similar sentiments, are expressed by those who haven’t reached their eighties.  As I approach 98, I will continue to live as long as my mind is what it is and my remarkable friends stay with me and care for me as they do. I will not let any of them down. 

On the positive side, going to bed is still a wonderful experience, and I sleep well. My food intake is down but adequate, and all else is functioning normally. 

I feel good about all that is taking place around me. I write, do poetry, and write haikus each day. While that makes the day for me, I thrive with my visitors.

I might be getting a bigger screen for my writing. I hope it will make a difference.  I can also get a microphone and speak instead of typing. I spent my working life talking and teaching, not writing so that accommodation would take me back to my old and natural ways.  My love to you all.

Right now, I am here—and I will stay for a while—until I am not

What Your Visits Mean To Me

Today, Ron and his son flew in for a few hours to visit me. Mark was here in the morning, and Steve came by in the afternoon, as did Ian. What does this mean to me?

I see and feel it as an act of love. I do not take any visit for granted. I see them as invaluable gifts to me, ones I so appreciate.

Being alone is not my cup of tea. I can’t read, the TV does not work for me, and the computer (my creative tool) has its limits, but I fill the afternoon using it to create.

So, if you can, come on over and spend some time with me. We have stories to share, and I promise to be a good listener. I have been told that is one of my better qualities and an essential part of what I have taught many over the years.

It is interesting that not hearing well forces me to concentrate more than ever on the person I am with. Since I love being with the company, that is a plus.

Thanks for listening to me.

A visit means lots—Easy to understand why—Thanks for sharing time

Where I’m At

While I have no desire to speak for others about their experiences with aging, I can only tell you what I am undergoing.

I am 97, which means I am seriously old. Only a few reach this age, so allow me to share some of what life is like for me. Every night, I go to bed early, usually around 7 PM.  Due to macular degeneration, I can’t see, nor can I hear, likely a result of my being in the military, but otherwise, I am fine. 

Yet my mind is perfectly sound. I am amazed at my recall and ability to write poetry, haiku, and essays.  In particular, the essays regarding power and relationships.

After 97 years, I know how and why relationships and power can fail and how and why they can succeed. Both are at the root of the human psyche and the making of family. 

I also know that we have the capacity to grow and to change our behavior. I know this to be a reality, and the work I have done for almost 80 years is my proof. 

At the risk of repeating myself, allow me to restate the overarching problem as I see it.  If people seek agreement instead of discussion, the conversation is fated to fail. If agreement is necessary for either party, the entire point of dialogue is moot.

People must be able to share their feelings and be heard without demanding agreement; otherwise, authentic communication is impossible.  

The rule is simple. Agreement must be set aside to allow for honest dialogue. After all, what game does not have rules that must be followed? 

Thoughts on Power

Negative power is the Power that damages all relationships, including those at home, school, or work.

Regardless of location, where power is used badly, it does significant harm. Destructive power always begins as a hierarchy where someone sits at the top of the pyramid, and only a single chair exists.

That chair at the top might be for a father or a mother, or it could be a teacher, an immediate boss, and all the bosses above.

Power can be found almost everywhere.

It might be gross or subtle. Ideally, the job of the one in power should be to “empower” others lower in the hierarchy. Ignoring this obligation will make matters worse. Subordinates know what they experience, hear, see, and feel. To empower is to give and grow the other.  So, if you can do so, be a good farmer.

To empower, my job—what other way is there for me—And that, to build you

Another Book on the Way

My 4th book is being edited and will be on Amazon soon. 

So, what will this version of Sy be? It will explore the “Leader of Leaders,” power, the leader as an employee (most leaders are), relationships, dialogue, and The Inner Circle. Also, since I enjoy poetry and the Haiku form, I hope to have a poetry/haiku book edited and published soon. I have fun playing with words and thoughts, which is what poetry and haiku are to me… Fun!

I invite you to feel free and join me in what I write. If you want my thoughts on a given subject, please reach out to inform me. Maybe I will have something to say, or maybe not, but I will write if I feel I am able.

I have no idea where this journey leads until I sit at the computer and begin to type. It is my style. Words lead to more words and thoughts to more thoughts.

Being productive—Is what I must be, just me—I am what you see