Author: Janis Johnston

Janis Clark Johnston, Ed.D., has a doctorate in counseling psychology from Boston University. She has worked with children, families, and groups (ages 3-83) with presenting issues of anxiety, depression, trauma, loss, and relationship concerns. She initially worked as a school psychologist in public schools and was awarded School Psychology Practitioner of the Year for Region 1 in Illinois for her innovative work. She was a supervising psychologist at a mental health center, an employee-assistance therapist and a trainer for agencies prior to having a family therapy private practice. Recipient of the 2011 Founder’s Award for her dedication to the parenting education of Parenthesis Family Center (now called New Moms), and the 2002 Community Spirit Award from Sarah’s Inn, a domestic violence shelter and education center, Johnston is an active participant in numerous volunteer activities supporting children and families in her community. A frequent presenter at national psychology and educational conferences, Johnston has published journal articles, book chapters, and two books -- It Takes a Child to Raise a Parent: Stories of Evolving Child and Parent Development (2013, hardback; 2019, paperback) and Midlife Maze: A Map to Recovery and Rediscovery after Loss (2017, hardback; 2019, paperback). In addition to augmenting and supporting personal growth in families, Johnston is a Master Gardener and loves nurturing growth in the plants in her yard.

Know Your “Why”

November is National Gratitude Month. I have a long list of things that I am grateful for; one of the top contenders (after family and friends) is my education. I am sadly aware that educational privilege is not shared by everyone.

I was overjoyed to find Northwestern University (ranked among the top 10 U.S. universities) has graduated adults who are incarcerated with bachelor’s degrees. The first group of women from Illinois’ Logan Correctional Center, 18 strong, joined the ranks of Northwestern graduates! One woman who was released from prison in 2021 was a role model for the others: “I stand here, back inside (this) facility, not as an incarcerated woman, but as a Northwestern graduate, as an executive director and as an advocate for criminal justice reform alongside the women in the community who shared this journey with me.”

Northwestern partnered with Illinois Department of Corrections, along with Oakton College, to deliver college credit to those incarcerated since 2018. The degree program (initiated in 2022) has graduated two groups of men, but this groundbreaking opportunity has now gifted women for the first time. One graduate was able to share her achievement with her 12-year-old son — the first time they saw each other in person since her 2016 incarceration. Elated graduates expressed gratitude to their families and professors.

Nancy Pelosi, first woman to be named Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, delivered the commencement address with her blessing: “Be confident, be yourself, that’s the most valuable thing I can say to you — there’s nobody like you. Know your why, because it’s rough to contend and compete, so it has to be worth it to you for your why.” One woman offered, “My daughter and my granddaughter, they are my ‘whys.’” Another woman poetically referred to Jennifer Lackey, Northwestern Prison Education Program director, as delivering education “…to the mud…planting seeds…which have bloomed into beautiful lotuses.”

Of almost 5000 U.S. higher education institutions, it is estimated that 4% (around 202) offer college credits inside prisons. The number of Americans who are incarcerated is approximately 2 million. As few as 1% of these individuals complete a bachelor’s degree during their prison years — about 2% gain an associate degree and about 7% complete a vocational or academic certificate. This leaves a lot of ground for improvement.

Each college/university must reach out to underserved populations. Educational improvement also is needed in U.S. public K-12 schools. The Program for International Student Assessment evaluates 15-year-old students globally in main areas of study. The U.S. ranks 13^th globally in reading, 27^th in math, while science is a U.S. strength.

President John F. Kennedy made this phrase popular: “A rising tide lifts all boats,” to emphasize how lifting up economically lagging regions of the country helps everyone. How about lifting up U.S. sagging education performances to help every person’s wellbeing?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

548. In what ways do you show gratitude for your education?

549. How might we increase levels of education for all Americans?

“Maxxing” to the Rescue?

*The Sun,* Edvard Munch, 1910–11. Photo © *Munchmuseet.*

“Maxxing is shortcut for maximizing.” It’s Dictionary.com’s 2026 Word of the Year. It works as a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. What? You are not using it in your everyday speech (yet)?

It’s OK. You have 2 months to update your 2026 vocabulary.

In case you are curious, here are some competitors for this year’s “word of the year”: affordability, data center, odyssey, and “Unc” — abbreviation for “uncle,” with Gen Z and Gen Alpha poking “fun” with ageist stereotyping of older individuals who are judged “uncool,” trying too hard, or just not “getting it.”

According to the director of lexicography for Dictionary Media Group, Steve Johnson, “Maxxing….crossed a lot of different domains…we not only look at the data behind the word usage, but we also are really looking to see what’s capturing something distinctive that describes the year.” Are you upping your sleep habits or “sleepmaxxing”? Have you finally kept one of your New Year’s Resolutions and now are “gymmaxxing”? What about your leisure time or “cozymaxxing”? Even the government is in on “maxxing” snacking, as in some messages for “homelandmaxxing.”

Emily Mae Czachor, Reporter and News Editor at CBSNews.com, writes that the word has roots, as in “maxing out” one’s credit card. Johnson focuses on the optimization definition as stemming from game theory; he references Dungeons & Dragons’ “min-maxing,” or the shoring up of a character’s strengths in one area to cover for weaknesses. Is this what politicians attempt to pull off?

Do you favor “maxxing” on election campaign ads? This election cycle has seen “maxxing” of money spent on candidates’ brand (often including trash talking an opponent). According to AI Mode, midterm elections in 2026 broke all records for money spent on total political advertising. Estimates are projected to reach a “maxxing” amount of $11.6 billion. This does not seem like national “optimization” when people cannot afford to fill their gas tanks at the pump. Imagine what those billions might achieve in the education of our nation’s youth. And let’s shed some light on our planet’s climate crisis with a few billions.

Johnson reports, “This trendy term can be used on its own or added to the end of any word to convey you’re doing something to the fullest or optimizing it as much as possible.”

If all of this leaves you out of the trendy loop, consider “normalmaxxing!” This allows you to be up to date with Dictionary.com, but to reject pressure to optimize everything. Or consider “nothingmaxxing.” A YouTube feature attracting millions of viewers offers “taking boring breaks” by filming a guy staring at a blank wall for 10 minutes. Gen Z followers then filmed themselves doing nothing. This digital-break phenomenon likely will garner some researcher’s interest!

I just hope turned-off voters stop staring at digital screens or blank walls long enough for “maxxing” voter turnout in every election cycle.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

546. What are you “maxxing” in your life?

547. How might you spend billions of dollars if you had access?

Emotional Wellness Takes Dignity

October is National Emotional Wellness Month, a grassroots effort since 2004, with a focus on everyday personal “balance.” Just about everyone could use some stress reduction prior to the contentious national midterm elections coming soon. Goals for the month include “processing feelings constructively.” Have politicians been informed?

UC Berkeley professor emerita Arlie Russell Hochschild carried out 7 years of ethnographic research on Pikeville, Kentucky, where the American Dream escapes most residents. The Fifth Congressional District of Kentucky — described as the “whitest and second poorest congressional district in the nation” — suffers incredible economic distress from job losses in the declining coal industry, with ongoing poverty and substance abuse as unresolved issues. In 2016 nearly 80% of voters chose Donald Trump. In 2017 a caravan of white supremacists rolled through town, looking to recruit members.

In her book, Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right, sociologist Hochschild explains that Appalachian workers who experienced economic disaster tended to blame themselves rather than the “system.” Hochschild’s approach was simply to listen to those whose life stories infrequently make the evening news. She held compassion as participants shared complicated circumstances, feeling deprived of dignity, during extensive interviews. The painful sentiment of one individual asking, “If you’re white and poor…what’s wrong with you that you’re stuck at the bottom?” was echoed in similar wording repeatedly. Another version of stark economic stress was expressed this way: “If it’s such a privilege to be born a white male, what could explain me except my own personal failure?”

Hochschild explains that the Trump tactic redirected such internal insecurity and shame into external blaming of progressive voters and immigrants. Pretending to be a victim like the impoverished, Trump fueled anguish, viciously lashing out at non-followers; it struck a chord with many.

Co-creator of the Dignity Index, Tami Pyfer tested an 8-point scale in Utah during the 2022 midterm elections. The scale rates the language one uses when disagreeing with others. Levels ONE to FOUR reflect contempt: “Those people are ruining everything. Those people are evil.” Levels FIVE to EIGHT are “dignity” levels of the scale. For example, at level SIX, a person looks at things they have in common with others; at level EIGHT there is ability to see dignity in everyone.

Emotional wellness and dignity could change the U.S. political climate.

Hochschild found voters in Pikeville who worried about climate change. One pro-Trump Republican businessman pointed out a mountain where coal once was king, and told Hochschild, “I’d love to see solar panels and windmills on top of a lot of our mountains here.” Research from Yale Program on Climate Change Communication reports about 63% of Kentucky residents believe global warming is an issue; 70% favor regulating carbon dioxide. Nationwide, a majority of voters agree to curb the climate crisis.

Can we extend our common ground before it is too late?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

544. How might you discuss climate change with neighbors?

545. What does having “dignity” mean to you?

Writing for Savoring

Karen Lamb, British author, illustrator & animator

I don’t know about you, but writing wasn’t my favorite subject in my first 12 years of education. My favorite was reading, later called Literature. I spent many happy hours selecting books from bookshelves of the local public library. I savored books. I still read all the time. And I found out how to savor writing. As a young adult I wrote a dissertation and journal articles. Currently I write books, a weekly blog, and I opened to the compact writing of poetry.

The National Day on Writing is celebrated October 20. The annual event (since 2009) was birthed by the National Council of Teachers in English. One goal of the teachers is to highlight the incredible variety of writing – including old fashioned pen-to-paper journal writing alongside emails, texts, and other social media blurbs. A recent emphasis asks students to share #WhyIWrite.

The New York Times has a column, “The Good List,” by Melissa Kirsch. She wrote about a retired elementary school teacher, David Millstone, who shared with her his genius writing habit he created for his students. At the end of each school day, his class was asked to give a name for that day. Millstone wrote his students’ responses on the board. But here is the twist that added to class collective creativity: the students learned democracy by voting on which “name” best captured each day. Sometimes one response grabbed everyone in some way. On the last day of school Millstone gave each student a written copy of all the voted names from their school year, along with their report card. Amassing 175 names for each school day in one year took on a life of its own. Millstone still remembers one day from 40 years ago: “The Day Gretchen Found a Crumb on Her Desk.”

In case you do not have a classroom filled with creatives, here is a substitute: Millstone and his wife began giving “names” to each day of their shared vacations. They compared notes. His wife kept a photo album (remember those?) and included their captions with trip photos.

I am a fan of pictographs carved on rocks. Sometimes referred to as “rock art,” I prefer to see these crude drawings as writing tablets to tell the world, “I was here.” Perhaps that is the reason why all writers write. If something occurs to you in a particular way, why not share it with others? Some will resonate with your writing. Others will dismiss your words. But in the end, you have left your mark: “I was here and these were my thoughts today.”

Write on this National Day on Writing. Perhaps tell a complete story in only 6 words…perhaps create 3-line Haiku poems…perhaps write and send a letter to a special person in your life. As author Karen Lamb suggests, “A year from now you will wish you had started today.”

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

542. What is your early memory of writing in school?

543. How do you use writing today?

Time for a Personality Lift?

“Active Aging Week” (October 5-11 this year) was initiated by the International Council on Active Aging to promote free wellness activities in organizations for those 50+ with a goal of reaching as many older adults as possible. Suggestions include group walks, group exercise classes such as yoga, and health-related classes like prevention of falling. Sponsors for programming include Humana, Abbot, and LeadingAge, a national advocacy group of 5300 nonprofit service providers serving older adults. “Active aging” includes recognizing that many older adults are active contributors to society.

Ageism Awareness Day (October 9) is sponsored by the American Society on Aging to reinforce a realistic view of aging. For many, there is a bias against rising numbers of older adults. Perhaps Americans are in need of a “personality lift.”

Ageism often misrepresents the facts. Ageism has 3 components:

Stereotypes (how we think),
Prejudice (how we feel), and
Discrimination (how we act) toward others or ourselves, often based on one’s numerical age.

Psychotherapist and spiritual writer Thomas Moore writes in Ageless Soul, “When people think of keeping their youth as they age, they often think too physically, materially, and literally. They get face-lifts but not personality lifts.”

Yes, youth is prized in American culture. And yes, facelifts are a “thing;” according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons; as many as 230,000 full and partial facelifts happen each year in the U.S., as well as increasing numbers of facial fat grafting and neck lifts.

We need to break ageist, sexist, racist, and gender bias stereotypes in America. There is backlash from younger workers about Social Security payments provided for seasoned citizens (my label). It is not well known how much older adults support our economy and are key caregivers. Nearly 69% of U.S. grandparents (estimated at 65 million) provide some kind of childcare or support for their grandchildren. Approximately 2.07 million grandparents are the mainstay for raising their resident grandchildren. Almost a third of older adults identifying as LGBTQIA+ are providing care to a friend.

The number of people older than 75 in the labor force is estimated to be 10.1% in 2026. Recent AARP data indicate that adults 50+ produce $12.5 trillion in economic activity. However, most white-haired adults are not wealthy. In 2022, nearly 1 in 10 individuals ages 65 and older (approximately 5.9 million) lived below the poverty level. Many grandparent caregivers (60%) are in the workforce to make ends meet. It is a sad truth that the poverty rates are higher for African American, Asian and Hispanic older adults than non-Hispanic white older adults.

Let’s ask ourselves to notice when we are in discrimination territory. Stereotypes are so prevalent today in America that I am afraid we mostly do not notice. Your critical personality part often is a misguided protective attempt. Is your critic operating in overdrive? Personalities need tune-ups more frequently than cars.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

540. When do you catch yourself being ageist/sexist/racist/gender-biased?

541. What are your own needs for a personality lift?

Peace Plan: Music 101

“Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common.” Sarah Dessen, American novelist of young adult fiction

Music is a soother for many ills. Why not apply it to world peace?

Adam Weingarten is the music director of Boston University’s Hillel, offering the first music program of its kind for any chapter of Hillel International. Weingarten’s goal is to bring students together, Jewish and non-Jewish. His take on college life today is a microcosm of what all of us may be experiencing:“It’s harder for people to connect now…to see what we have in common. Having a common memory, having a night where you had a good time with someone else, that can bond you for life—or at least for the four years you’re here.”

As a youth, Weingarten enjoyed singalongs at Jewish summer camp alongside the music of his favorite band, the Beatles. He created his own band, “Sounds of the Attic,” while combining Judaic studies and audio engineering. His philosophy of music is as simple as it is profound: “…little moments actually make the biggest impact…just like a song has a progression, a beginning, middle, and end, and every part of it is equally important, that’s what I want the kids to feel during their college experience—making their story flow like a perfect piece of music.”

Music is as old as_________. Fill in the blank. Likely the first humans chanted and had choir practice. It is believed that oral storytelling was often embellished through song, especially with rowers at sea or ancient dramas embellished by a Greek chorus.

Ancient Egyptian temple priests were thought to use “vocal toning” (that resonated within stone walls) to align humans with deity. Buddhist monastics chanted Om as a meditative practice. Confucius is considered a promoter of the powers of music and tone. Ancient Greek physicians used musical incantations and vibration accompanied by flutes and lyres to heal the sick; music was believed to purge negativity, improve digestion and sleep, and treat joint issues like gout. In Finland the vocal practice of lament was part of healing grief, loss, and other traumas.

These early intuitives were on the right track. Research in the 1950s-1960s found that patients with religious leanings and an enjoyment of classical music would respond faster in healing from postoperative retinal detachment than those without these characteristics. Science today identifies how music affects the brain’s limbic system and produces changes in neurotransmitters, such as catecholamine, indolamine, dopamine, endorphin, and the latest, neuron growth hormone. During group singing, bonding-hormone oxytocin is released, producing trust and social connection. I experience this, singing with 130+ others in my community’s Peace Choir.

Research bears out Weingarten’s hunches about music’s peaceful power: complete strangers may develop close bonds after singing together for just one hour.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

538. When might you consider music as a healer?

539. How often do you sing with other people? If not, why not?

Gen X Similarities with Baby Boomers

Carolyn Worthington, editor-in-chief of Healthy Aging^® Magazine and executive director of Healthy Aging^®, is founder of September is National Healthy Aging Month. The annual celebration has the mantra, “it is never too late to reinvent yourself.” I call this “rewiring” your personality and skillset.

Worthington champaigns those 45+ to take charge of physical, mental, social, and financial well-being. As she highlights, U.S. attention is no longer predominantly directed to the Baby Boom generation (born 1946-1964), with 76 million Boomers over age 50 today. Gen X individuals (born 1964-1980), 65 million strong, recently streamed into their 60’s.

Consider each take-charge goal (actually for everyone, not just Gen Xers and Boomers):

Physical well-being

As U.S. Gen Xers age, health-related decisions become crucial. According to the Mather Institute Gen Xperience Year 2 Report, stress levels run high – nearly 69% of Gen Xers reported moderate-to-extreme stress in the previous 3 months. A majority (67%) reported “good”-to-“very good” physical health, while 9% reported “excellent” physical health. However, research from Ohio State University indicates that risks for metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and chronic inflammation are higher in Gen Xers compared to Baby Boomers at the same age. Compared to previous generations, Boomers are reported to have 1½ times more cancer, lung disease, heart problems, diabetes and high cholesterol as they reached their 50^th–60^th decades.

Mental well-being

My labeling, Midlife Maze — the squeezed generation caring for children alongside aging parents — is upstream challenged in work-life balance and job security; nearly 60% reported these factors affect well-being. Only 45% of Gen Xers rated their mental health as “very good”-to-“excellent,” compared to 57% of Boomers.

Social well-being

Gen Xers and Boomers report increasing rates of loneliness. An AARP study found 46% of U.S. adults ages 45-59 identifying as lonely. A Cigna Group study found Boomer loneliness rates to be 44-45%. Ben Franklin was 29 when he penned these words: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Let’s prevent social isolation for both groups.

Financial well-being

Nearly 40% of Gen-X households have no retirement savings, while 27% of Boomers have zero personal retirement savings. There are misperceptions about who picks up the retirement tab. Without savings, many retirees assume Social Security will bankroll retirement. However, average 2026 S.S. checks for retired employees run about $2,000 monthly with average households headed by an individual 65+ incur monthly expenses of approximately $5000 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey).

Worthington’s advice is to treat September like “back-to-school” season for adults. She proposes asking, “What was your best year so far? 28? 40? Now? Picture yourself at that age and be it. Some…may say this is denial, but…it’s positive thinking and goes a long way toward feeling better about yourself.”

Tip: Don’t keep swimming in thrashing thoughts about how you look in the mirror. Make well-being plans.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

536. How do you rate yourself on these 4 indices of well-being?

537. What steps might you take TODAY to leverage better self-care?

Who is a Foreigner?

Marisol, *Portrait of Georgia O’Keeffe with Dogs*, 1977, graphite and oil on wood, Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Photo: Brenda Bieger, Buffalo AKG Art Museum

“I am the Venezuelan, born in France, living in Italy – that has an English car with North American plates and Swiss insurance – and they want to ask me what nationality I am.” — Marisol, born María Sol Escobar (1930 – 2016), held citizenship in Venezuela, France, and the U.S.

National Hispanic Heritage Month 2026 is from September 15^th to October 15^th when we celebrate Latinx history, traditions, and the cultural diversity of Americans whose heritage originated in Spain and 19 countries and territories: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Chosen by the National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers, the 2026 theme — “Unidos, Somos Más” (Together, We Are More) — emphasizes the pervasive cultural and economic impact of Hispanic and Latino communities. As the largest racial or ethnic minority in America, over 70 million ethnically Hispanic/Latino residents make up 1/5 of the U.S. total population according to census data.

Initially Hispanic Heritage Week, Mexican American U.S. Rep. Edward R. Roybal (Los Angeles) sponsored legislation and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law in 1968. President Ronald Reagan expanded the week to a full month in 1988, giving more time for educational events and community celebrations.

September 15^th pays tribute to the anniversary of “El Grito de Dolores” (The Cry of Dolores), a call to battle in 1810 in Mexico’s war for independence from Spain. El Salvador and Guatemala also celebrate their independence in September. Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day, or Día de la Raza, occurs just before October 15^th.

From 1500’s onward, Latinx Americans have impacted U.S. history. A documentary, Latino Americans: The 500-year Legacy That Shaped a Nation, offers interviews with 100+individuals. We forget that “the border” has experienced shifting demarcations between Mexico and U.S. over the years. Mexican people became “foreigners” in their own land from 1565-1880. Eventually, Cubans and Puerto Ricans crossed borderlands, followed by Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, and Guatemalans who often were escaping civil wars, death squads, gang terror and/or family issues.

Marisol came to America due to family issues. Her mother committed suicide when Marisol was 11. Marisol made a drastic decision after her mother’s death: she chose not to speak except to answer questions in school classes. She remained predominantly mute until her early twenties. In Marisol’s religious adolescence, she walked on her knees until they bled and tied ropes tightly around her waist. Her father sent her to a boarding school in Long Island, New York, and then to high school in L.A. where the traumatized teen was expelled for “not fitting in.” Was she considered a “foreigner?”

American-born Georgia O’Keefe was of Irish and Hungarian descent. Was she a “foreigner?” Today, many American-born Latinx folks are once again viewed as “foreigner” in the U.S. and are endangered.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

534. How many ethnic identities do you possess?

535. Did family issues ever cause your family to cross borders?

Deep Time

Poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic and farmer, Wendell Berry, died on August 31, 2026, at age 92. While he lived a simple rural life in Henry County, Kentucky, his thinking was urban and forward-thinking about the future. Along with his collaborator, his wife Tanya, he championed environmental caretaking. Nature metaphors underpinned much of his writing. Here is Berry’s poem, Real Work:

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.”

In America we need more environment role models like Wendell Berry. We need to pay attention to esteemed First Nation people who consider the indigenous philosophy of 7 Generations Ahead. Oral history of the Iroquois or League of Six Nations date the philosophy’s origin to a timeframe between 1142 and 1500. Chiefs handed down this “Great Law of Peace” with the staunch belief that one must look past one’s own sands of time to ensure future generations’ wellbeing.

Western time considers a short range of time for a “generation” – from 15-30 years; many First Nation people view a generation as spanning 100 years. There is an interconnected responsibility of ancestor-grandparent-parent-child, a melding of past-present-future thinking, that often escapes our lawmakers today. Anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson captures the U.S. predicament: “The great irony of our time is that even as we are living longer, we are thinking shorter.”

Described as a social philosopher, Australian-born Roman Krznaric writes on empathy and regaining carpe diem. To “seize the day” has just as much relevance today as when the phrase first appeared in Roman poet Horace’s book of poems, Odes, in 23 BCE. Krznaric’s 2020 book, The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-term Thinking, suggests that our species suffers from “an acute crisis of perspective.” He sees today’s human as having a “funneled focus on the present” to the detriment of embracing “deep time.” Writer John McPhee coined the term in 1980 to contrast normal life spans with the slow-moving geohistory of Earth.

Other countries, notably Finland’s Committee for the Future, have proactive approaches to address the collective wellbeing for the future. Long-term governance also exits in the UK, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Chile, and South Korea. Finland promotes future-linked skills and competencies as part of schooling for children. The U.S. federal government does not have such dedicated educational goals; in fact, the current administration plan is to dismantle the Department of Education.

Let’s learn from the Māori people of Australia. Māori lawyer and children-rights champion Julia Waipooti relates, “We are all grandchildren and we are all ancestors.”

Let’s read Wendell Berry’s Real Work poem to politicians. Would they understand it?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

532. What are your views on a federal “Committee for the Future?”

533. How often do you think about 7 Generations Ahead?

Are You Ageist or Sagest?

Time is ticking for all of us. How do you spend your time each week? Answers from 125 individuals, ages 55-96, provide possibilities. I found both ageist and sagest responses, sometimes coming from the same individual, in my Johnston Retirement Survey for my book, Transforming Retirement: Rewire and Grow Your Legacy. Survey samples define retirement:

65, female (works 30 hours a week): “To withdraw—I don’t see any blessings in retirement.”

68, male (retired 1 year): “Boredom.”

72, male (retired 5 years): “I hadn’t anticipated a divorce.”

73, female (works 18 hours/week; volunteers 15 hours/week): “For my parents/grandparents, [retirement] meant no longer working. It is difficult for me to envision retirement—it seems, as I think about this, that I equate it with poor health. I think I am in the process of letting go of self-limiting beliefs.”

73, male (retired 7 years; volunteers 10-20 hours/week): “Helping my children enjoy life…being an activist to change our world for the better.”

75, male (retired 3 years; volunteers 20 hours/week): Sometimes I feel isolated when I’m not doing volunteer work, or otherwise in social situations…retirement allows me to focus on developing as a real person…it allows me to pursue my real passions.”

80, female (semiretired 20 years; volunteers 15 hours/week): “Time to make and keep connections with important people and the larger earth…treasure each day and let go of regrets.”

93, female (retired 29 years; volunteering varies): “No more days to go away to work…it’s a special time to use as planned.” (She uses expert sewing skills to mend others’ clothing in her assisted-living residence.)

Yes, retirement has the possibility of special time. Our perception of “time” is ever present in aging. Yet, there is timelessness to stockpiling wisdom. For all who maintain their cognition, and embrace possibilities, wisdom consolidation is available 24/7. As M. Scott Peck, psychiatrist and author (The Road Less Traveled), sagely stated: “Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”

Unfortunately, many associate aging with a narrowing, rather than a growing, self-definition. They find it difficult to value themselves, buying into our culture’s ageism. I recently heard a woman loudly proclaim, “I am old,” as if she expects others to cut her some slack for anything she does. Her investment in time appreciation seems limited. If seasoned citizens do not rewire and value their gift of life’s time, boredom can cut their interest-in-life rates.

David Romanelli, author of Life Lessons from the Oldest & Wisest, found many among the sagest: “An elder’s wisdom is often raw, unscripted, unbranded, poignant, and deeply personal…if you ask an elder to share their story…spend some time…they will teach you something that you cannot learn from even the most successful self-help gurus.”

Let’s urge everyone, regardless of age, to invest in possibilities. Transforming Retirement has numerous “Possibility Time” exercises.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

530. Do you consider yourself more ageist or sagest?

531. What is on your possibility list?