Notes from Ageless Soul by Thomas Moore

Stages in the aging process

feeling immortal,
first taste of aging,
settling into maturity,
shifting toward old age,
letting things take their course.

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We can deal with this anxiety individually by living a day at a time, being present to what the day has to offer. If there is no sickness or any other problem, we can enjoy the day. Some people project themselves into a debilitating future and live in the anxiety of imagined woes to come.

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I don’t care what the calendar says. I have a strong youthful component in me, and often that person in his 40s seems to inhabit my body. Even when I look in the mirror, I sometimes manage to see more of the 40 year old man than the one who is 76. I’ve always been a strong believer in illusions.

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Simple, ordinary activities can improve your health and ease the black bile of melancholy that afflicts many older people. Take that walk in the woods, look for a sparkling lake or river, and don’t spend much time with negative people. We don’t realize how important it is to rely on nature for our health and mood, to think about the kind of people we have around us, and to understand the value of gardens and trees.

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The older years offer a perfect time to reflect more often, more deeply and more seriously on these important aspects of life. Of course, we need to begin this kind of reflection in our youth, but it can reach its depth in old age. Being part of a culture that has lost interest in profound ideas and intense reflection on experience makes aging more difficult.

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Being an elder not only helps other people find guidance and wisdom, but it also gives the older person added reason for living. It may be the final act of a generous and thoughtful life. It is service taken to the last moment and done with a special authority and dedication it helps if the older person consciously adopts the role of elder. I could say from my own experience that a certain point people begin to treat you as an elder and look for benefits that you may be able to give them.

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The poet Maya Angelou once wrote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Thus legacy is a matter of the heart. It’s not an idea but a feeling connected to largely invisible people, it’s a special way of loving, and if there is anything that could make growing old more pleasurable, it would be to discover new ways to love.

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Reflection – – the first stage for an ordinary person is reading or listening to someone else offer an understanding of events. You listen or read and make those ideas your own in your own way. The second stage of reflection is conversation. You make a point to speak with people who have something worthwhile to say and with whom you enjoy speaking. A third stage of reflection is to find some effective mode in which you can express yourself it could be writing of various forms – – journals poems, essays, fiction…

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My Review of the Book

I am a bit of a cynic. Books like these discussing getting older are often written with the goal to alleviate the concerns and fears of elderly people as they approach death. The objectives when you get into your 70s and 80s are to find interests and things that will motivate you to stay alive or at least maintain your enthusiasm for healthy living.

While one can try to maintain a healthy attitude about life in your 70s and 80s, what’s more important are the states of your mind and your body. It’s critically important that you are not alone and that you do have some type of social network that hopefully includes family and friends.

It’s a comforting book with some useful bromides about topics like overcoming melancholy and leaving legacies. I don’t think there is one philosophy or set of rules to follow in life after 70. One of the things that I try to adjust to is the declining control I have in the direction of my life. I don’t have the physical, intellectual or mental energy I had a year ago and I expect that to continue to decline.

My five worst fears as I get older:

Losing my wife
Loneliness
Dementia
Disabilities and loss of health
Running out of money

Unholy Alliances 2024

Trump-focused Texas border rally blends politics and religion

Alabama justice who quoted Bible in IVF case often invokes religion

Newsom calls out Alabama IVF ruling as part of ‘war on women’

Anti-abortion extremists in the US are waging a holy war against women

Trump: ‘Crazy’ for any Christian to vote for Democrat

Don’t Give Me that Old Time Religion!

I’ve had enough of the suffocating grip religion has on our politics, morals, laws, lifestyle and culture. As an agnostic or skeptic, I’ve spent my life bending over backwards to accommodate the beliefs of religious people who see the world differently than I do. But the relentless march of the theocracy movement in this country has crossed a line. You can’t just conjure up a deity and then proceed to dictate rules, laws, and acceptable behavior based on this fictional creation.

I’ve tiptoed around expressing my views on religion and politics out of fear of causing offense. But no more. My wife and many of my friends adhere to a religious faith, yet I can’t ignore the looming threat that organized religion poses.

Religion isn’t just a personal belief system; it’s a force that threatens the very fabric of our society. We must push back against its encroachment into our laws, our institutions, and our lives. Enough is enough. It’s time to stand up and challenge the tyranny of religious influence.

At my age, I fear that dangerous religious thinking will have an influence on how I may choose to die or how I can control my wishes on medical care as I am dying. Keep your “God” out of my life!

(The Alabama Chief Justice Who Invoked God in Deciding Embryo Case: Chief Justice Tom Parker has long been revered by conservative groups as an architect for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.)

Abortion Shield Laws: A New War Between the States

Doctors in six states where abortion is legal are using new laws to send abortion pills to tens of thousands of women in states where it is illegal.

“Control of women’s bodies is the endgame. And some religious conservatives won’t stop until that goal is achieved. For that reason, intervening victories — like the overturning of Roe v. Wade — will never be seen as enough; they will only intensify a blinding sense of righteousness.”

Charles M. Blow NYT

Alabama’s I.V.F. Ruling Shows Our Slide Toward Theocracy

The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta (Book Review)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I believe everyone, regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs, should read this book. Its importance and critical insights extend far beyond the confines of any particular faith or ideology. What is being preached in many white evangelical and Christian churches holds significant implications that reach beyond their walls.

“In the year after Trump left office, polling repeatedly showed there was one demographic group most likely to believe that the election had been stolen, that vaccines were dangerous, the globalists were controlling the US population, that liberal celebrities were feasting on the bloods of infants, that resorting to violence might be necessary to save the country: white evangelicals.”

The author starts off the book by describing events that took place at his father’s funeral services. Alberta’s father was a respected minister and many of the people who were at the services were longtime friends and associates of the family. Instead of his father being respected and the family comforted, Alberta was castigated for writing articles that certain members of the church felt were derogatory towards Donald Trump. Alberta was accused of treason.

So unlike many other authors who could’ve written this book, Alberta had “skin in the game.” I think that he wrote the book as fairly as he could given the topics, the people involved and the consequences to not only religion but to our country.

Alberta was able to draw portraits of both Jerry Fallwells Senior and Junior, Ralph Reed, Stephen Strang, Paula White, Robert Jeffress, Charlie Kirk, Herschel Walker and Doug Mastriano to name a few. He describes the changes that have taken place at Liberty University. Sadly most of those changes have had deleterious effects on both students and teachers.

Donald Trump has assumed an almost godlike status within the white evangelical movement, despite his controversial behavior and moral character, including multiple marriages and allegations of sexual misconduct.

Alberta also describes the efforts of various ministers and politicians who are attempting to separate religion from politics. The tide has certainly been running against them. Many ministers who attempt to focus on Bible studies and religious topics without introducing politics into their sermons find that many parishioners leave and gravitate toward politically charged sermons. Funding dries up and churches close that just preach the word of God.

This book has been described as the best nonfiction book of 2023. It is a long book, 452 pages in hardback, but an interesting and informative read from cover to cover. This will be one of the books that historians 30 years from now will read and review critically in order to understand the fraught intersection of politics and religion in our era.

View all my reviews

Pickleball Musings

One can often get a feel for how competitive a team or players are by viewing how they warm up.

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Few things unnerve your competition more than when your games and shots become unpredictable and they are unable to adjust.

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Marketing ploy or good advice? Replacing paddles older than one year to take advantage of new technologies to generate increased power and spin.

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Coincidence? Most winning doubles teams share long histories of competition and practice together. (Nationally: Johns Brothers, Ben and Anna Leigh, Locally: Troy and Kristin Clemmer, Manny Lai/Alex )

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Expand your game and shot selections after mastering the basic shots. Keeping improving your game by changing your game and grips. (View YouTube videos of the two handed forehand volleys and groundstrokes by Riley Newman and Troy Clemmer).

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Networking (meeting/playing new people) improves your career prospects and your pickleball game.

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Due to the increased volley speeds generated by newer paddles, avoiding hitting “out balls” has become an “unforced error” to mindfully minimize.

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Due to the increased volley speeds generated by newer paddles, wearing eye protection is a must. (I don’t play at an advanced level generally, but I’m amazed at the increased speed of volleys and have barely avoided injuries when standing at NVZ at intermediate play. A lot of power generated from Joola and Gearbox paddle models).

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The greater pickleball player of all time is not playing yet.

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The new attempts to eliminate or revise the drop serve at the professional level seems as wise as the attempt by the NCAA in the 60s to eliminate the dunk in college basketball. (50 extra IQ points to those readers who understand this reference.)

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