Invincible summer – in the chill of winter….

All my life I have loved and been inspired by quotes.

Here are two which I pinned up in our kitchen,  absorbing their energy and wisdom during that long period of recovery 2001-8, at a very dark time when my own energy was perilously low.

At this dark time of year approaching the solstice, when we in Scotland are in the iron grip of a very early, very severe winter, I thought some of you might find them inspiring!

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Winter creativity - spot the Tai Chi person!!

photo: Anne Whitaker 8.12.10

“It is far more creative to work with the idea of mindfulness rather than with the idea of will.Too often people try to change their lives by using the will as a kind of hammer to beat their lives into shape. If you work with a different rhythm, you will come easily and naturally home to yourself. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future, therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go.”

John O’Donohue, pp 83-4 “Anam Cara” Bantam Books 1999

(John O’Donohue 1956-2008 was an Irish poet turned priest, whose writing merged Celtic spirit and love of the natural world )

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“In the midst of winter
I finally learned
That there was in me
An invincible summer”       – how inspiring is this! I love it……

This is a popular quote whose original source I have as yet not traced, but have come across a slight variation ie ‘within me there lay an invincible summer’ - different sites have different versions. Come on, detectives out there! Where in Camus’ writings does this quote appear? Let me know!

Albert Camus

( Albert Camus 1913-1960 was a French philosopher best known for his book L’Etranger (The Outsider) whose existentialist philosophy influenced a whole post-war generation)

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300 words copyright Anne Whitaker/John O’Donohue/Albert Camus/ 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Where has all the silence gone?

From the autumnal equinox, reaching its deepest point at the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere slowly descends into darkness. The earth grows cold. Nothing grows. But yet another vibrant Spring is incubating in the darkness – and silence – of  the Underworld.

World culture abounds with myths telling of this archetypal Descent and Return: most familiar to us, the Greek myth of Persephone’s forced descent into Hades, abducted by the dark god Pluto, and the bargain he struck with her mother Demeter for her return to the upper world from spring to autumn.

Then there is the ancient Sumerian myth telling of the descent of the goddess Inanna to visit her brutal sister Ereshkegal in the depths of the Underworld, and the drama of her escape and return. The ‘dark night of the soul’ written about so eloquently in the Christian tradition by St John of the Cross, has inspired and guided many a spiritual seeker.

These and many other archetypal tales – which have provided us over millenia with guidance on how to face the deepest facets of human experience – are in essence journeys into silence, into the deep core that holds the ‘dazzling darkness’ wherein we may encounter that profound light and energy which ‘charges up’ the spark of immortality we all possess.  It is to be found Somewhere. It is often hard to access. For some people, it is only through profound suffering that the door opens. Some people call that energy “God”.

The monks of  Worth Abbey have no hesitation in doing so.

They and their Abbot Christopher Jamison came to national attention in the UK a couple of years ago via a BBC programme “The Monastery”, in which they

“……invited five participants to live along side the monastic community and discover for themselves the wisdom of St Benedict……”

This series of programmes attracted a great deal of attention. It touched a deep chord amongst many people in our noisy, 24/7 society where silence and peace are hard to find. Clearly, there is a great deal of spiritual hunger in our materially over-fed culture……Worth Abbey was inundated with requests for retreats and for spiritual direction following the screening of those programmes.

Recently, in a new series presented by Christopher Jamison, Abbot of Worth Abbey, ‘The Big Silence’, five new participants  were “……invited to take the wisdom of silence found in the monastery……” and carry it back into their everyday lives.

Five volunteers went on this journey into silence, led by Father Christopher Jamison. His starting point is simple: “Many of the world’s religions believe there is one simple path that leads us towards God. It’s called silence.”

The participants in "The Big Silence"

http://www.worthabbey.net/bbc/thebigsilenceindex.htm

Father Jamison is convinced that everyone – atheist, agnostic, lapsed, uncertain, seeking – can benefit from sustained, regular periods of silence. “When we enter into periods of silence, we start to see things with greater clarity. We come to know ourselves, and come in touch with that deepest part of ourselves. That is our soul.”

I watched the three BBC programmes following the difficult, absorbing and moving experiences of the five participants, all of whose lives were challenged and changed by being in silence. Watching this process, and the careful way they were guided through by Abbot Jamison, the monks and the spiritual directors assigned to each participant, was a profound experience for me. I am still reflecting on it.

The whole BBC series can be found on YouTube at “The Big Silence”.

Anyone reading this article who is interested in exploring what entering silence could do for them, is seriously missing out by not watching those programmes! Check them out – and leave a comment to let us know what your response has been.

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ps 30.11.10 - I have just found out, through one of my incoming links, a site which gives a whole series of feedback comments on ‘The Big Silence’. Do have a look! These programmes have really reached out to many, many people….. http://www.worthabbey.net/abbey/news_BS.htm

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600 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Puns for the educated mind….

Normally I bin ALL forwards. But this one, sent by my friend Anne J, got under the radar. Flattery gets you everywhere!

Check them out  – I have highlighted my personal favourites in orange. What are yours?

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1.
The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference.
He acquired his size from too much pi.

2.
I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out
to be an optical Aleutian .

3.
She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4.
A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it
was a weapon of math disruption.

5.
No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.

6.
A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

7.
A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum
Blownapart.

8.
Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9.
A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking
into it.

10.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

 

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/w/writers.asp

11.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

12.
Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to
the other: ‘You stay here; I’ll go on a head.’

13.
I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14.
A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: ‘Keep off the Grass.’

15.
The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium
at large.

16.
The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a
seasoned veteran.

17.
A backward poet writes inverse.

18.
In a democracy it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism it’s your
count that votes.

19.
When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

20.
If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you’d be in Seine.

21.
A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The
stewardess looks at him and says, ‘I’m sorry, sir, only one carrion
allowed per passenger.’

22.
Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says
‘Dam!’

23.
Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the
craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have
your kayak and heat it too.

24.
Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, ‘I’ve lost my electron.’ The other
says ‘Are you sure?’ The first replies, ‘Yes, I’m positive.’

25.
Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal?
His goal: transcend dental medication.

and last but not least……

26.
There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that
at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

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many thanks to the witty soul who put this list together. If you see it on this site, let me know and I will give you a credit!

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Emily Cutts: Constructive criticism is a gift

I was surprised recently when a close friend of mine told me her reason for leaving a secondary school teaching position in a prestigious private school in Scotland.  One of the parents didn’t like the critical feedback she was giving their daughter, saying that it was damaging and un-motivating. In reality it was constructive feedback: factual, and given with the intention of improving performance.

Criticism is a gift: Carol Dweck pictures

http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/pp/tools.php?p=c2lkPTEz

The parent was blaming my friend for their daughter’s poor performance in this particular science subject. Another parent, a psychiatrist, was complaining for similar reasons, but also demanding to know why their son wasn’t doing well at science – blaming the teacher for their son not ‘getting it’.  My friend was disciplined by the head of department. From then on, she was required to put less ‘negative’ feedback comments on work and to be more positive.

I have heard that this type of behaviour from parents has been increasing in schools across Scotland – parents blaming teachers for their child not doing well or not getting what they want.

Why would parents put pressure on schools not to give a child accurate feedback during the learning process, instead wanting them to paper over the cracks in understanding with positive praise? Why would schools take them seriously?

The answer could have something to do with feelings:

(an argument most clearly put forward by Dr Carol Craig at The Centre for Confidence and Well-being(1))

We don’t want to hurt a child’s feelings because we falsely believe that doing so will undermine their confidence and consequently their learning.  This causes teachers/parents to modify their behaviour in various ways to make sure that feelings are not damaged: restricting critical ‘negative’ feedback; reducing standards to make things easier; avoiding certain tasks for fear of hurting a child’s feelings should they fail – and unwarranted praise for tasks which the child can already do and for meaningless activities.

The problem with these behaviours is that they undermine the learning process, sending an important message to the child that they cannot cope with failure: failure is to be avoided. Another message is that they can’t handle challenging tasks.  If we thought they could cope, then we would allow them to hear the constructive feedback.

How could anyone learn if they lived by this philosophy?

Think about learning something difficult, and receiving feedback after you didn’t do very well on the task. Would you rather someone told you what you wanted to hear eg  ‘Well done you did really well, you are going to be the next Nobel Laureate’.  In this case you would gain no useful information – only a good temporary feeling…and could you ever trust that person’s opinion again? Or, would you rather find out about where you went wrong and how you could rectify it?  You might not like it at the time, but the feedback would help you to learn and do better in the future.

The first type of praise (currently widely applied) has been criticised by some psychologists because of its capacity to undermine learning (2,3).  It is thought that people praise in this way when they want to boost a child’s self-esteem, and protect young people’s feelings (1).

However, if you praise a child for activities that they can already do well, this sets up behaviours which undermine learning and paradoxically decrease self-esteem. The other aspect of this is to praise young people for being clever or smart (85% of American parents think that it is good to do so).

Praising for talent in this way sends a message to the child that you, the adult, value intelligence – since children are very sensitive to the messages they receive – they then want to demonstrate their intelligence to prove they have the talent.  The highly negative consequence of this is the avoidance of anything challenging which might show up weaknesses, or hiding/avoiding failures and sticking to things they do well.

In addition to this, people become more likely to blame others for failure, rather than taking ownership of their own setbacks and learning. This is salient in the example at the beginning of parents complaining about my friend’s teaching i.e If they believed their child to be smart, but yet they were not understanding science – then it must be the teaching at fault and not the child.

Our culture has an obsession with natural talent. However, there is a problem with this fascination: we cannot predict who will succeed and who won’t. Someone could start out seemingly talented at science, for example.This does not necessarily mean that they will always be successful – research demonstrates that people need to work at growing their talent or else they do not reach their full potential.

Other studies show the converse. Those who start off seemingly talentless can flourish later on– the late bloomers – exceeding all expectations and predictions about how well they will do in life.  Some famous examples are: Einstein, Beethoven, Robin Williams, Magic Johnson,(4) – but I am sure you can think of examples of people who you went to school with (or other walks of life) who exceeded your or other peoples expectations?

Overwhelmingly, the research shows (e.g. 6)  that talent is something which requires practice, perseverance and a lot of effort. For example,  Malcolm Gladwell (5) says that to become an expert at something takes around 10,000 hours of practice.  It takes thousands of failures and setbacks along the way and all of this activity changes the structure of the brain (e.g.6).

The brain is like a muscle: Carol Dweck pictures

http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/pp/tools.php?p=c2lkPTEz

Young people can develop all of these abilities, as well as resilience, through accurate, useful feedback, and praise for their hard work and effort. Not only will this increase motivation for learning, but by default, performance too. (6)

Going back to the example of my friend being told to restrict critical feedback and increase praise, this does not seem like a good long term learning strategy.  A better method would be to encourage teachers to give students negative feedback, harnessed with the encouragement to take this feedback as a learning opportunity and not as a personal attack.

Learning takes time, it’s frustrating, hard work and effortful – these messages might be more important for the child to hear than more praise and little critical feedback (7). This may also provide hope for the future, to students such as those mentioned earlier who may not initially do very well at some subjects.

Parents need to stop blaming teachers for their children’s learning – it is not all their fault  – and help their children to take responsibility for their own learning. One way to begin this is by cultivating a love of learning, valuing critical feedback, and treating failures and frustrations about learning as a normal and natural process in education and nothing to take personally.

Constructive criticism is a gift, we just need to view it that way more often.

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Links:

1. http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/projects.php?p=cGlkPTUz
2. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/story?id=2877896&page=1
3. http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/
4. http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/OnFailingG.html
5. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316017922?ie=UTF8&tag=stormysblog-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316017922
6. http://mindsetonline.com/ and http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/projects.php?p=cGlkPTU4
7. http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/projects.php?p=cGlkPTU3JmlkPTQ3OA==

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1200 words copyright Emily Cutts/Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Celebrating Extraordinary Scottish Women

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine there was a woman walking this world who had had a three-pin electrical plug removed from her skull – when she was two years old……

Apart from that exceptional tale, Sarah seemed remarkably normal, telling her story with great verve and humour. Then there was newly married Chris, who won a holiday to Amsterdam which clashed with her wedding anniversary. Her husband insisted that she should go. In the winners group she ran into someone she knew slightly, agreed to be her roommate for the trip, and they have been best friends for all the many years since then.

Anne told a family tale from her Highland background, in which her great-grandmother who had the Second Sight correctly predicted, on her deathbed, great changes which would come to her remote island village many years thence.

Jackie set us all a challenge to go and visit remote Unst in the Shetland Isles, the most Northerly part of Great Britain, where she had been last month, as part of a remit to teach public speaking to second year Secondary pupils. “Go to Unst! ” became a rallying cry for the evening, held at the Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland, UK – one of Europe’s most vibrant cultural venues.

And what an evening it was. Our hosts, Lauren Currie and Cassie Robinson, great connectors both, had the bright idea of issuing invitations to a range of women in Scotland, suggested to them by their friends and associates as people who were making distinctive creative contributions in a variety of fields to Scotland’s economic, social, educational and artistic life. I was honoured to have been put forward by my friend, positive psychology advocate and independent thinker Emily Cutts.

Emily, currently on a six-month sabbatical in San Diego, California, co-writes a section of my Web Magazine “Writing from the Twelfth House” which I have been running since the summer of 2008.

The tenor of the evening was friendly, relaxed and good-humoured right from the start as we were offered a glass of wine and began to get to know one another. I had been at networking events before where I could barely hear myself think above the clattering of surrounding egos: it wasn’t like that at all.

Scotland had, and still has, a strong tradition of story and song. Lauren and Cassie were inspired in playing to both those cultural strengths during the evening.

The Story Locator!

http://www.flickr.com/

The colourful tales recounted above were taken from their icebreaking opening exercise – an invitation to tell stories evoked by a range of Scottish place names, read out against a visual background of a very large blank map of Scotland pinned to the wall facing our group of about thirty women of ages ranging from 20s to 60s. As each story was told, Sarah – who led the exercise – would write a headline on a post-it note, then stick it on the map roughly where the story originated.

It was a brilliant exercise – by invitation rather than putting people on the spot – in which everyone was able to tell a story or share with the group something about themselves. I was really struck by the enterprise, imagination, range of activities, confidence and creativity revealed.

After having been dined as well as wined, came the “surprise” of the evening: Lauren had met a colourful and talented performer just the previous evening, and invited her along to entertain us. On came “Tartan Heather” : dressed from head to foot in – yes! – tartan, carrying a borhan. Her short, passionate performance, a mix of traditional Gaelic song, mouth music, and her own compositions within a traditional setting, captivated us.

"Tartan Heather"

http://www.flickr.com/

I was not surprised to discover, on conversing with her afterwards, that she comes from the Travelling People of Scotland, whose musical heritage holds memorable traditional  Scottish folk singers such as the late Jeannie Robertson. Some performers evoke the soul of that centuries-old deep, dark and powerful river of folk memory underlying the music. “Heather” is one such singer; it was a privilege to hear her.

The evening flew by. At its end, there was plenty of hugging and exchanging of cards and email addresses. Lauren and Cassie were well organised: at the door was a plastic memory board featuring our names where we could write contact details. Everyone was happy for a list to be prepared and circulated later. On the opposite wall was another board. We were invited to write down OUR suggestions this time – for extraordinary women we would like to see invited to the next event.

In time honoured fashion, those with the most remaining stamina then retired to the pub.

Despite emerging into a dark, damp, dreary glaswegian night (no surprise there!) I set off for home feeling cheerful, heart-warmed and inspired. Well done, Lauren and Cassie. It feels like something new has just been born. Let’s see where we can take it from here……

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800 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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AWhitaker 2009 Photo: Lynne Connor

Anne Whitaker is a Web writer who launched her magazine “Writing from the Twelfth House” in 2008. “MoreBitsFallOff.com“ - never give up, never give in! -  is the new section of the magazine, co-written with positive psychology advocate and independent thinker Emily Cutts.

To find out more about Anne, click HERE

Happiness and the healing power of Nature

Emily’s recent post – celebrating the importance of the natural world to children’s development – was set in the Botanic Gardens in San Diego, USA, where she and her husband and son are currently resident. Here in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, Emily and I are both great fans of  our local Botanic Gardens, as is her young son Lauchie.

We are now past the autumnal equinox, and Spring seems a long way away as we begin the slow descent into colder days and darker nights. So my post this week, especially for those readers who do not like winter, anticipates the Spring……

“I  have a ritual which I’ve repeated for a long time now. From late February each year, I go into the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow  via the Kirklee gate entrance, stroll up the path, and have a close look at the earth border to the left. Green shoots are just appearing.

I check them every week, as the stems grow taller and sturdier, and the buds fatter. There is a magic moment  in mid to late March when, at last, I see the first daffodil of Spring. Quite often, I punch the air and go “Yes!!” That moment provides a rush of pleasure which remains with me the whole day.  I call my ritual The Daffodil Run. You think I’m daft? I know it’s an important part of  what keeps me sane.

There are very few clear evening skies in Glasgow. If you’re rushing up Byres Road on the way home on one of those rare nights, especially when you cross the Queen Margaret Drive bridge, look out for a small woman standing still, gazing at the sky. That’ll be me, admiring the wonderful, fragile beauty of a new crescent  moon. Even in the city, in the increasingly hurried pattern of 21st century life, it is possible to maintain a connection to the cycles of the seasons and the rhythms of nature.

It’s increasingly recognised that regular contact of this kind is an important component in establishing and maintaining the kind of inner balance and peace that promotes happiness.

One of the many advantages of living in a small country like Scotland is that access to the great outdoors is not difficult – half an hour out of Glasgow, for example, it is possible to disappear into lovely countryside and forget the existence of the city very quickly. Try it !

It doesn’t matter how stressed you are, how much angst you are carrying. A couple of hours of  tramping across the hills, often in rain and wind, focusing on nothing more complex than  where you put every footstep in order to avoid disappearing up to your waist in a bog, is guaranteed to purge out at least some of it.

Over many years of  walking, I have offered the hills both my joys and my sorrows, and  have found validation for the former and solace for the latter. In homeopathic medicine, broadly speaking, you treat an ailment with a very dilute form of the toxin which caused it. I have found the homeopathic principle works very well with bleakness of the soul or spirit. That condition can be effectively treated by choosing weather and landscape to match your mood, and immersing yourself in it for a few hours. Meeting bleakness with bleakness has a powerfully cleansing effect.

Complementary to this is the powerfully life-affirming effect that natural beauty can have.

Kylesku, North West Scotland

Photo: Anne Whitaker

Standing on top of a favourite hill on a sunlit day, looking at stunning panoramic views, listening to the joyous song of a skylark, feeling at one with the wind and the landscape, has on numerous occasions made me feel so glad to be alive that I have wept for joy.

These experiences may fade in the face of the rigours of an average life. But if you repeat them often enough, you develop a sense of being part of the great round of nature, where joy and sorrow, youth, maturity, decline, death and rebirth all have their part. You also learn, slowly, the importance to being a happy person of being able to “grasp the joy as it flies”, celebrate the moment, “seize the day.”

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(First published in “Self & Society”(The Journal of Humanistic Psychology) (UK)Vol 27 No 5, November 1999, then www.innerself.com : Innerself Magazine (USA), and most recently – March 09 -  in ‘ The Drumlin’, the Newsletter of Glasgow Botanic Gardens. Also published on “Writing from the Twelfth House”– April 2009)

700 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Nourishing young bodies and souls through nature: Emily speaks out!

In the park the other day were a couple of puddles left over from some rain (this is unusual for Southern California). Instantly my son gravitated to the pools of watery mud –- despite the shiny play park right beside him.  He paddled with his bare feet and experimented with the mud – completely engrossed.

Other kids came over and attempted to join in.  However, this was thwarted when parents, from all angles, whipped away their children before they could make contact with germs or get mud on their nice clean clothes.  This interchange sharpened my growing concern; there is an increasing disconnect in our society between children and nature.

Throughout all of history, and pre history, children have been either playing or working on the land.  Our ancestors, the hunter gatherers, spent almost all of their existence in nature; they lived, breathed and learned through the natural environment. The natural world has played a fundamental role in the way humans developed over time. For example, the natural elements would have determined what people built, what food they ate and even how their language and thought developed.

If you look at the English language this connection can be traced. ‘M’ for example, has its roots in water; when you think about it, M looks very much like a wave or ripple. ‘ W’ stems from the wooden bow (and arrow). Turn W on its side and it looks like a bow. This connection to the natural world is evident in primitive tribes across the world. An obvious example is how many words they assign individual plants and animals: the Nuba tribes in Africa have forty names for locusts (biologists only recognise ten).

We in the Western World, on the other hand, are moving further away from nature. For example, we have built very safe play parks with astroturf and bouncy material on the ground. We have many indoor play gyms, music classes, swimming classes, and a multitude of other indoor activities for our children (television and the computer are just two examples). On top of this, particularly here in the US, we have an infrastructure which demands more concrete and more roads.  This worries me. Moving to a safer, indoor and non natural environment is damaging our children.

Richard Louv, one of the most influential writers on this topic, believes that over the last few decades we have seen a new and drastic change in society, in relation to children’s behaviour.  “We are seeing the virtual disappearance of children playing outside in nature” . Louv has spent many years researching this idea and outlines his thinking in his influential book “The Last Child in the Wood” (1).

 

Lauchie gets down and dirty!

(photo: Emily Cutts)

He argues that there are drastic consequences for the mind, body and spirit of children when nature is not a part of their life.  Louv has coined the phrase ‘nature deficit disorder’ to explain the consequences of depriving a child of his or her natural instinct to be nourished by nature.

Why has this shift occured? The obvious explanation is a technological one with the advances and changes in lifestyle like cars, televisions and so on.  But the main reason is  – fear.   It doesn’t feel safe to let your child go out and play in the wild – what if they get abducted, attacked or break a leg or catch a bug? We increasingly believe that our children are in danger from themselves and others. This leads us to be constantly wrapping our kids up in cotton wool in case they break like a piece of fragile china.(2) It also leads to suspicion of others – the stranger danger campaign has escalated in recent years.(3)

Yet, evidence suggests that children are not in any more danger of strangers than before. If anything, rates are decreasing (4) and mud and dirt is good for them; it helps build up physical resilience (5). The super safe play parks on which we spend millions  save maybe one or two lives per year (we’d be better spending the money on car danger – a more serious problem for children) (6)

Facing the challenges associated with the natural environment builds a stronger and more resilient child.  Sheltering children from bad experiences, and the germs that they might experience in nature, is far more dangerous for them than letting them experience and experiment in the natural environment.

This is because there are a multitude of benefits of being in nature.  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is now one of the most common childhood disorders yet being in nature reduces the symptoms of ADHD. When children play in nature they do so in different and creative ways, (compared to when they are in man-made environments). Being in contact with nature has the physiological effect of reducing stress in young people.

Furthermore, contact with nature helps children focus when they lose concentration, reducing aggression and influencing disorders like asthma and short sightedness.  Even just 5 minutes in the natural environment has been shown to increase self-esteem and enhance mood. (There are many more beneficial effects of nature which influence the development of a child.)(7)

Nature is good for adults too. (Anne will be writing about this in the next post on MoreBits) For example, natural scenes have a restorative power – patients with a view of greenery recovered quicker from surgery than those viewing a brick wall. Nature positively influences aggression, violence (reducing both), cognitive abilities, attention and memory, well-being as well as reducing depression (7)

Aside from all the physical and mental benefits of being in a green environment, nature nourishes our spiritual development.  One of the most important teachings of nature is that it provides a sense of wonder.  Richard Louv gives a beautiful imaginary example, in this video clip(8): it depicts a child picking up a stone, finding something living under it – and the child’s amazed realisation that they are not alone in the world. The sense of wonder, appreciation and gratitude that nature provides is invaluable.

Considering the enormous benefits of nature on the developing child, we need to think creatively of ways for our children to be out in nature, and for longer periods (and when they are a bit older, alone). Going to a swing park isn’t enough.

Keeping our children indoors for long periods is much more dangerous than letting them play outdoors.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon a gem here in San Diego at the Botanical Gardens, where they have developed two areas for children (which arose as a result of Louv’s book)(9).  The Seeds of Wonder garden for young children does what it says – it stimulates wonder.

 

Wonder happening here!

(photo: Emily Cutts)

The garden has been carefully thought through: they have created paths in and out of the trees for children to explore; they have a water trough for experimentation with water; children can pot plants (my son potted a succulent today); there are hidey holes through which to watch the world (… like butterflies, plants, other children and even a model railway steaming its way around a track); trees to climb on, and so much more.

You might think that it is easy to do this because of the good weather, but these things don’t depend on optimal weather – they can be fun in the rain too if one has the right gear.  My son could spend hours here, getting wet and muddy.  I can’t think of a better example of a public space which allows such an interactive connection with nature.

There is hope though for all of us! In the park with the puddles my son’s antics in the mud soon catalysed enough excitement in the local kids for them to slip the restraints of their over-bearing parents and begin stomping about, digging and splashing in the muddy water hole.  One girl, who initially looked on with disgust ended up head to toe in mud, and much happier for it.

Overprotective parents = 0 Common sense = 1

I left the Botanic Gardens feeling happier too. You can take the child out of nature – but take nature out of the child? I think not!

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Links

1 http://richardlouv.com/
2 http://www.rethinkingchildhood.com/
3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8399749.stm
4 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8399749.stm
5 http://articles.cnn.com/2006-04-05/health/cohen.allergies_1_fewer-allergies-germs-sick-kids?_s=PM:HEALTH
6 http://www.rethinkingchildhood.com/no_fear.html
7 http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/flourishing-lives.php?pid=168
8 http://richardlouv.com/last-child-video
9 http://www.sdbgarden.org/AV-video-2.htm

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1400 words copyright Emily Cutts/Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Coming up soon at MoreBits….

As our increasing band of devoted readers will have noticed, Emily and I have been pursuing the theme of Aging from different perspectives in recent weeks. We are ready to move off that subject now, but if you want to read Anne’s and Guest Joyce Mason’s views on the topic below which has just been published on “Writing from the Twelfth House”, do check it out!

Do you really want to live to be a hundred?

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Beautiful Tree

http://www.tree-pictures.com/tree_wallpaper.html

 

We are moving on to exploring the theme of  Happiness and the Healing Power of Nature next. I am waiting for Emily to send her post to me, as I  tap at my computer here in rainy and increasingly chilly Glasgow, Scotland. I have a feeling she is sitting, blissed-out, under a shady tree in the sunny Botanic Gardens in San Diego, California, at the moment, composing her post as son Lauchie chases a squirrel or two….. no, I’m not jealous. Well, not very…

Watch This Space!

Aging: Emily challenges some misconceptions

“But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.”
Jenny Joseph

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A few months ago as I was walking in the botanical gardens in Glasgow, Scotland,UK, I was struck by an interchange between an elderly man and a young woman.  The older man, maybe in his 80s, was walking his dog and attempted to make polite chit chat with the young woman (who was probably in her early 20’s) with a smile and a question. She responded by looking away and picking up speed – providing no words to explain the departure.  After the event I could see a loss of confidence in the man’s posture and in his speed as he moved on through the park.  Though I don’t know what his interpretation was of the event, I think he must have felt invisible.

Later that same day I noticed many more older people around.This got me thinking about some research indicating that our aging population will boom over the next few decades, resulting in many more older people than younger ones.   I found myself considering the implications for our society of both the incident in the park and the research. It got me thinking that we have a collection of negative views surrounding aging which are inaccurate and damaging, and we value youth much more than age.  Something needs to change.

Society hasn’t always placed such a high price on youth. In the past, or in the
tribes Anne talked about, older people would have been valued and respected and would have earned a special place within their community.

Our society puts the younger ones in a special place, forgetting about the  importance of the aging process and of older people, and of  what can be learned from both. You can see it in the media, in films, television, magazines and so on. There are media celebrities like Posh Spice and Katie Price (aka Jordan) desperately trying to defy the physical aging process and seeming more and more unhappy…. by each episode of Now magazine!

One reason why there is an inclination to put the young on a pedestal is because many believe that happiness can be found in physical things, such as money, a sports car or, in this case, good looks.  If happiness is believed to be associated with looking young and attractive, then it would make sense to believe that normal aging will diminish happiness.

The research shows overwhelmingly, however, that physical things, or materialism,  are less likely to bring happiness.

For example, the happiness of lottery winners returns to pre winning levels before too long. Focusing on good looks and staying young, and pursuing other extrinsic goals, is a sure way to reduce happiness and well-being. Such a focus draws away from the things that really make us happy, like relationships with others and meaningful work.

The other factor at play in our views about aging is our perception of what age will bring. We endorse a host of negative stereotypes about this - senility, slowness, unhappiness - which are not necessarily true of the healthy aging process.  Holding these stereotypes has a significant influence on our thinking and behaviour.

For example, studies show that these beliefs impact on the following: how well people respond to stress, whether people think they can achieve their goals, and how well they perform on cognitive tasks. They also determine whether people will accept life-promoting interventions, and affect their sense of meaning in life – even the will to live.

Furthermore, our perceptions about aging can influence our life expectancy by a whopping seven years – that’s better than giving up smoking!

Old, active - and happy

Contrary to our beliefs about aging, recent research suggests that there are many benefits that come with age. For example, studies show that as people age they become happier. They are also more content, calm, peaceful, have a greater sense of meaning in life, and are much more able to attend to the positives than the negatives.

They are also, surprisingly (considering they are nearer the inevitable) less fearful of dying than younger folk.   Another benefit of age is that older people tend to see the bigger picture and are more able to balance different perspectives. This is why older people tend to be, though not always of course, wiser than young folk.

All of the evidence on ‘positive aging’ suggests that there is a ‘silver lining’ to growing old. Some things get better with age. But, why does this happen?  Psychologist Laura Carstensen, lead researcher on ‘positive aging’, has put forward a ‘Socioemotional Selectivity’ theory as to why this may be. She says that as we age our state of being changes – no longer striving as younger folk do, more aware of how limited our time on earth is, we are more able to enjoy the simple things in life.

So why are all of these findings so important? Not long ago I heard a lecture by Professor Phil Hanlon, from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, who was discussing population dynamics. His argument showed  that in 1945, less than 5% of the population lived beyond 65.  By 2035, he estimated that 30-40% would be over 65. This is a massive shift within society and will lead to major problems,  given how strongly our beliefs about aging impact upon health and well-being.

Challenging negative perceptions will not necessarily be easy; they are embedded in our culture. Yet, I think we can begin to chip away at the negative views surrounding aging and old people. I don’t know exactly how this will happen (as change can often be surprising, and not what one would expect)

Having said that, one place to begin might be through communication. I am lucky enough to have a close relationship with two older people: my dad and my grandfather, who are both in their 80’s (my grandfather is my mother’s father, in case you are thinking the numbers don’t add up!) and I also have several close friends in their 60’s.  My relationship with these older people continually challenges the stereotypes I might have of growing older. For example, my grandfather swims three times a weeks and does floor exercises on the other days, with one day off a week. Not exactly the image of a slow old person, and in fact he is much more active than anyone else in the family.

Not only does communicating with older people challenge stereotypes, but it also builds connections between the generations, strengthening relationships. It also transmits stories which otherwise would die with the person. All of this provides hope for the future, while at the same time increasing our sense of the value of age.

Considering that most of us will be living longer, it seems even more pressing to make those years as full and as vital as possible and to help change the misconceptions our current culture has of older people. Think about what you can do to effect positive change – it’s going to matter!

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1200 words copyright Emily Cutts/Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Hold that facelift! Some serene thoughts on Mid-Life….

You won’t find me in the gym, sweating it out with those of my peers whose main motivation is to keep age at bay. I’m not saving up for my first facelift. I don’t look enviously at fresh young faces and taut bodies. Whilst celebrating their youth, I am quite happy to be in life’s  “third age”.

In ancient times, when a woman reached menopause and began to feel the pull of death and rebirth into a new life phase, her tribe let her go free of duties for a year or so. She could wander, go deep into the forest, across the far hills, seeking solitude, time for reflection. She might gather roots and herbs only found in hidden places, to be used later. She had time to forge a deeper connection with Spirit than her busy life had previously allowed.

She would look at her lined face and grey hair in still river pools, sleep under the stars, slowly facing the fact that she was in the last phase of her life. By the time she returned she had deeply accepted the Great Round of birth, growth, maturation, decline, death and renewal. Having completed the mid life rite of passage, she was refreshed and ready to serve her tribe again. Her experience, knowledge and wisdom was valued and recognised : healer, midwife, mentor to the young, spiritual counsellor, she had her place in her community till the day she died.

 

Serene? Well, now and again....

photo of Anne W by Lynne Connor (2009)

“ But this is the twenty-first century!” I hear you say. “Things are very different now.”

I wonder. Are they? It is certainly true that humans have never lived such comfortable, materially sophisticated lives as they do now, if they live in the affluent societies of the West. Within this current cultural phase, there is a powerful preoccupation with one stage of life.Youth. It is possible because of huge advances in science, medicine and technology to delay the process of aging. Death has come to be seen as a defeat, rather than a normal part of the whole life cycle.

However, from gnats to galaxies, everything is woven into the Great Round. Why should humans think themselves exempt ?

Everything passes, and we pass with it. Denial of this robs us of a creative opportunity to face and accept the flow of life as it is. Acceptance, which takes experience, courage, reflection, and time, can lead to happiness and spiritual peace. Denial of any kind usually trails misery in its wake.The  mid life rite of passage is presented to us all, the choice being denial or acceptance. The latter road is slower and harder, but in my opinion - based on experience - infinitely more rewarding in the end.

ps ok, Emily, you’re in your early thirties. What’s YOUR view? (or anyone else out there – whether in Youth, Mid-Life, or Genteel Decline (I prefer to call it Post-Career Life, myself!)

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(this is an edited version of an article first published in Connections Magazine, Scotland, UK, August 2005)

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500 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page