We’re Better Together (BY PHILIPPA)

 We were a small but stalwart (and heat resistant!) group that walked the cemetery on
Saturday morning, fleeing to the underground café afterward to refresh, and enjoy the
company and air conditioning (To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure which one I enjoyed
the most!)
We are so fortunate to live in a time of so much new information about how to age well.
One study that caught my attention is the Harvard Study of Adult Development. Robert
Waldinger, who has directed the study for nearly two decades has said:
“Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period”
And then there is the changing terminology, from lifespan to healthspan to…joyspan.
Dr. Kerry Burnight coined the word “joyspan”, in her work as a gerontologist, because
as she says: the experience of wellbeing and satisfaction in longevity, matters because
without it, long life is a drag.
And so, here is my joyful story of the day: you probably heard about the miners that
were trapped underground in B.C.? They sheltered for more than 60 hours in a refuge
chamber (basically a steel cage) with no outside communication, awaiting rescue they
hoped would arrive. When finally, rescuers were able to clear away all the debris and
gain access:
“They approached the refuge chamber and knocked on the door. Back at command
you could hear a pin drop, said Mr. Wessels [global safety chief for the mine’s operator].
One of the men opened the door. Are you okay? Asked the rescue crew. Well, we got
to catch up on some sleep, Mr. Wessels recounted the men inside answered.”

The Pool Party

     This week we were all invited to the pool of one of our members to swim and have hamburgers.  This hospitality has become an annual event and someone reminded me that we have been invited for ten  years.  (And her husband has been cooking the burgers  at every one!.)  I was struck by the large act of kindness this is.  And how easy it might be to take it for granted.

But we don't. Each of us spends time recognizing the gift presented - the beautiful garden, the pool at just the right temperature, the delicious food.  It all speaks of care and hospitality.  

So here is our collective THANKYOU!   

I Am Hot (By Danielle)

I am hot. Too hot and remarkably grouchy. I yelled at a lifeguard who wasn’t doing his job. (Really? Listening to the radio and turning to watch the traffic rather than the pool?) I am losing patience with people I love and am worried about all the wrong things. I can’t stand that I do not know what to do about the forest fires, disastrous floods, and people in the world who don’t have food or clean water. Did I mention wars? But what is really making me nasty is knowing I have a choice. I can turn off the news, stay inside my air- conditioned home, go to the store or the market for fresh food. I can talk and walk with wonderful wise women who have calming things to say, and I can watch birds. I saw FIVE great blue herons in the lower pond in High Park this morning. And an egret. Were they all there because the smoke in the air grounded them? So here is my choice again. I can revel in seeing those wonderful birds or I can focus on the conditions that might have brought them. I think that nowadays, I need to find a way to do both. So please forgive me if I seem distracted. I am trying to find some kind of balance that is less ephemeral than birds. As Emily Dickinson said, “Hope is the thing with feathers.”

Mark Your Calendars (BY BARB)

 

So, in whatever form you use to note the social events in your life - be it pen and paper; fancy notebook; your phone/laptop/desktop or remember the daytimers?? 

Please note the following:

Saturday July 12

High Park for our regular Saturday walk.  Meet outside the main gates on Parkside Ave.  Parking on side streets (no parking in High Park on the weekends) - breakfast in the farmer's market along the west route.  Bring a bag! 

Saturday July 19

After walking, all invited to Rorie's pool party - details to follow

Saturday August 9

Trip and walk to the Island

Saturday August 23

High Park for our regular Saturday walk.  Meet outside the gates on Parkside drive.  Parking on side streets. Breakfast at the Farmer's market along the west route.  Bring a bag. 

Saturday Aug 30 

After walking, breakfast at the "Courtyard Cafe" - Barb's building outdoor space that we've been to many times before.  There are  picnic tables and lots of seating. A bit of a potluck with baked treats and other goodies.  Please bring your own breakfast treats and pick up coffee/tea on your walk down from the cemetery.  

Rain/inclement weather date is Saturday Sept 6

September TBD

Tea at Phyllis's house - pearls optional but highly recommended!

 

And 

 Our culture expert, DD has suggested this tour for anyone interested - date to be arranged.  The only true crime tour in Canada hosted by two former detectives!  Check out this link (you will have to cut and paste.)

https://www.torontocrimetours.com/

 

Enjoy all these fun activities! 

The Brickworks (BY PHILIPPA)

 The Brickworks is a very special place that I don’t get to very often, living as I do in the west end of the city, and so I really enjoyed our walk together along the pathways to get there. It was a surprisingly hot and humid morning and therefore being able to walk between shady trees brought blessed relief. And then of course, the reward of the bustling, busy market full of people, food and flowers, coffee and pastries offset by tranquil ponds of water lilies, turtles and frogs. It was a reminder of what a glorious world we live in should we set aside our troubles and choose to see it.

I figure during these uncertain times, we need all the inspiration we can get. The words below are written by Mike Monteiro and were featured in the good news newsletter I receive called Fix The News (bless  those Aussies for it!). The title is: How to Survive Online.  

The only way to defeat a narcissistic sociopath is to starve them. Protect yourself from their bullshit, of course, but move away from it. Let them have their stage, but refuse to be their audience. The first four years of Donald Trump was a continuous panic attack. I’m not going through that again. You don’t have to either. They’re on stage, but you don’t have to be their audience.

Amen to that!!!