Tag Archives: compassion

Beyond Coping: Having a Great Life!

Pam LeBlanc writes on Austin360.com: Exercise helps patients cope with Alzheimer’s Disease.  Pam gives the example of John Duncan, a man with Alzheimer’s who enjoys life more with regular personal training than he did before personal training.  The personal training … Continue reading

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Joy: The Antidote to Misery and Suffering

To pursue joy is not to whitewash the challenges and sadness of life. Sadness, fear, and challenges are very real experiences.  These experiences distract us from the joys of life and it is critical to the happiness of everyone to … Continue reading

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Beautiful Mortality! A Letter to Those With Alzheimer’s

My Dear Friend, Great sadness and disappointment are born of hope and attachment to a future that never was and never will be.  Waiting for joy in the future or looking for joy in the past denies us of the … Continue reading

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Joy: The Primary Focus of Care

I assert that love, joy, and companionship are the fundamental requirements of Alzheimer’s care.  Any other care that may be regulated and enforced to ensure physical health and safety should be delivered in the context of ensuring the presence of … Continue reading

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The Life I Love

Oooooo… I have chills just thinking about it:  The life I love.  Where is it?  Oh, it’s HERE! Everything I enjoy is at hand.  My guitar, a good paying job, my wife, my sisters and parents are just a phone … Continue reading

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Gratitude

Gratitude refreshes and gives life. Do you feel it? Gratitude scatters the shadow of loneliness with the light of recognition of the the contribution others are to who we are. And to be fair and complete, gratitude is the recognition of our importance to others, that they thought enough to give something we are grateful for. Continue reading

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The Glory of Friendship

Your friend is feeling down, so you visit to lift her spirits. You give your friend a gift and they are emotionally moved. You’re making a difference in each others’ lives. Continue reading

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A New World

Sitting with Carl, I look at him. “What world are you in now?”, I wonder. With Alzheimer’s, every moment can be a new world. I look in his eyes. He turns his head to gaze out the window. His eyebrows rise, a smile emerges and broadens. Carl chuckles. I follow his gaze to the squirrel clinging on the trunk of the tree, tail twitching. In this moment I enter Carl’s world and I am with him completely. Life is good. Continue reading

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Cure for All Suffering Found!

Do you notice that when you are full with joy, there is no room for sadness or suffering? Continue reading

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