AGING SOULS? By Gail L. Richards
Have you ever noticed how the soul refuses to age?
Unless a person has always been a stuffy uptight codger, that is.
The first glance I had of this phenomenon was in 1971, when I worked as a nurse’s aide in a home for the elderly.
I discovered that as our body’s age, we lose the ability to control our public persona. The person we’ve always been ‘inside’ emerges full force, and there’s not a darned thing that can be done to suppress it. Which is a good reason to nurture our kinder selves early in life, right?
But the other reality that smacked me upside the head was that residents of the home – in spite of their varied levels of awareness – were still thrilled by the things that made them happy as children. A dish of ice cream in the sunshine; music and dancing; and arts or crafts that provided a finished project they could be proud of.
At least for those who hadn’t always been stuffy uptight codgers, that is.
In the two years that I worked at that home in Placerville, California, I never once saw four folks at a card table trying to out-do one another’s Algebra skills. Not once did I witness residents emerge from their rooms to attend a speech about chemistry. And I would’ve given $10 to see a couple of 85-year-old retired elementary school teachers wrestling on the common room floor over sentence structure.
What I did see was every resident able to walk or roll turn out for a live music performance – and all who could dance or roll to the beat, did. I caught the laughter or good-natured cussing that accompanied games of Rummy or Yahtzee. And what hung on the walls in the rooms of most folks? Either photos of family and favorite artwork that had been in their homes, or crafts projects they’d made themselves.
So – what is all this blather really about?
Certainly we need Math, Science, and Language skills to perform jobs and live intelligent lives, but please – let’s keep Music, Art, and fun at the center of education. These are the lasting joys and creative outlets that continue to bring us together throughout our lives.
That is, unless you’re simply a stuffy, uptight codger.
Gail L. Richards, a writer and artist living in McCall, Idaho, also owns House of Color Gallery in the historic N. 3rd St. 1000 building of the downtown business district, where the work of mostly local artisans is represented. www.houseofcolorgallery.com
leave a comment