Consider a family of neighbors sharing the end of their journey through their life together, bound to each other by their joy of life and their mortality. Consider a family is really a community that includes the toddlers in the day-care center next door and the young people in the elementary school one block away. Imagine this family in a home with members of all faiths, cultures, and orientations completing their lives together, valued for who they are as human beings and the love they have to offer. That is what we are creating with Holistic Community Living.
Well, Perhaps I should not take the credit for creating this. It is more accurate to acknowledge that I am recognizing on a very practical scale what we really are: the Human Family. Perhaps still broader, we are the family of sentient beings. Do you want to broaden it more? Go for it!
No matter what you call it, the facts and circumstances do not change. What we are talking about is our perspective. Big deal? Yes. The actions we take will align with our perspective. How you act in the world is an expression of how you relate to the world. Yes, how you see yourself related to the world makes a difference! How you relate yourself to your neighbor may determine whether you speak to her with kindness, indifference, or contempt.
What works for you? You create the context of your relationships. You choose your affinity for another person, society, animals, the Earth. Which relationships are working for you? Which ones would you like to recreate with a new perspective? Give it a try! You have all the time in the world: 24 hours each day!
–David
David Lazaroff is author of Live It Up! 10 Ways to Share Joy When Your Friend Has Alzheimer’s. David coaches family and friends of people with Alzheimer’s Disease in creating a fun and joyful life. Contact david@holistic.com
David is the founder of Holistic Community Living, a Colorado nonprofit founded to operate and teach others to operate neighborhood-based assisted living homes where people can complete their lives with those they love.
More than thirty five years later, I am still appreciating the depths of lessons from grandma. I recognize the same lessons coming from others. Carl continues to teach me since 2004 when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and I began helping him. As dementia progresses, frustration swells from time to time. These are moments of suffering, like a dream of running for your life, but not getting anywhere, except it is real.