Blog archive
June 2023
Creative Aging
06/01/2023
May 2023
One Villager's Story
05/31/2023
Pasadena Area Literary Arts Center
05/31/2023
Pasadena Village Responds to Rainbow Flag Burning at Pasadena Buddhist Temple
05/31/2023
Plan Ahead - And Be Prepared
05/31/2023
Tuesday, May 23 Pasadena Celebrated Older Americans
05/31/2023
Rumor of Humor #15
05/28/2023
Reparations, Social Justice Activity
05/24/2023
Rumor of Humor #14
05/19/2023
Rumor of Humor #13
05/12/2023
Issue #12
05/09/2023
Science Monday - Review of Meeting on April 10, 2023
05/09/2023
Conversations Re African American Artists Before 1920
05/08/2023
Beyond the Village – Suzi and Phil Hoge
05/01/2023
Congratulations Wayne April! Honored at UNH
05/01/2023
Table Topics
05/01/2023
Volunteer Appreciation at the Village
05/01/2023
“ACCIDENTAL HOST—The Story of Rat Lungworm Disease”
05/01/2023
April 2023
Jumbo Joy
04/24/2023
Pasadenans Recent Experience With Racism
04/23/2023
Recent Events Reflecting Racism
04/23/2023
Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
04/18/2023
Photography for Social Justice
04/11/2023
Issue #8
04/07/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Catherine Deely
04/06/2023
Creative Writing in Older Adults
04/06/2023
Gifts of Love
04/06/2023
March 2023
Issue #7
03/31/2023
Issue #6
03/26/2023
Great Decisions update
03/14/2023
Dominion Lawsuit, South Africa and 710 Stub
03/08/2023
February 2023
2023 DEI Progress
02/27/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Doug Colliflower
02/26/2023
CONVERSATIONS WITH ART
02/26/2023
GREAT DECISIONS
02/26/2023
OLDER ADULTS RESOURCE FAIR
02/26/2023
The Important, Influential Books in our Lives - Revisited
02/26/2023
History, Resolution of the 710 Freeway
02/19/2023
Eminent Domain, 710 Highway
02/13/2023
Bernard Garrett, 710 Freeway
02/06/2023
Men's Times Gatherings
02/03/2023
January 2023
Pasadena's Senior Commission
01/30/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - JIM HENDRICK
01/27/2023
GRATITUDE - IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!
01/27/2023
JEFF GUTSTADT - FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
01/27/2023
Bernard Garrett, Incredible Black Entrepreneur
01/17/2023
What is the "Spirit Talk" Group About?
01/16/2023
Same Ol’ New Year, Brand New Me
01/12/2023
Review of 2022, Consideration of 2023
01/06/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - PATTI LA MARR
01/03/2023
FROM THE CHAIR
01/03/2023
WALK WITH EASE
01/03/2023
Plans for 2022
By John TuitePosted: 12/22/2021
Welcome Men of the Village! I am struck by the significance of the New Year: 2022! It could be my last year on Earth! It could be your last year on Earth…when seen in that context, it seems paltry in the light of resolutions…short term changes in behavior that we know, if successful, will affect our health, our weight, our eating patterns, our exercise habits, perhaps even our daily routines by adding prayer, meditation, or spiritual reading.
How are we going to address the weight, the influence, the meaning of this date in my life? What things should I choose to think about this year, read about, talk about, discuss, and ruminate on? Shall I choose twelve topics and spend a month on each learning twelve new facts? Astronomy, Zoology, Philosophy, History, the Brain…or other things of interest: the Spirit, the generations, the discovery of the animal Man, Religions, the Great Books….the topics go on...
I’m currently fascinated by David Brooks, the editorial writer for the New York Times, and a national motivational speaker. I’m reading a book he wrote about four years ago which has the fascinating title, "The Road to Character." Not easy reading but I find myself going back rereading pages, and searching for ideas and people whom I passed over rather quickly the first time. That’s the kind of book that I call favorite, whether I like it or not, but I follow the author as a challenge, to figure out what he’s saying and what the basis of his/her arguments are.
In “The Road to Character” he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives. Responding to what he calls the culture of the “Big Me”, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “resume virtues”, success and fame, and our “eulogy virtues”, those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, and faithfulness. Something my Franciscan friend, Richard Rohr, calls “Falling Upward”.
He then traipses through history looking at a variety of people who found various ways of facing their circumstances and eking out a conclusion to the human question: “Was my life worth it? Did I make a difference?”
What are your plans for 2022? Tell us!
John Tuite