ROCKIN’ and TALKIN’ with the CLINTON SENIORS ASSOCIATION
“Autumn is a second Spring where every leaf is a flower.”
- Albert Camus
Were you surprised to see the snow Sept. 13? I know I was. I felt like we were going to lose an entire season – no Fall this year.
From all accounts though, it’s been a terrific year for wild fruit – Saskatoons, choke cherries and Mountain Ash berries in abundance. That’s good for our animal friends. I saw the most beautiful, soft brown bear at the cabin Sept. 10.
On Oct. 1, we celebrated The International Day of the Older Person. Oct. 8 is Thanksgiving Day. Seniors are acutely aware that they have more days behind them than ahead and they are also acutely aware that in some of those days ahead they will be facing challenges of one form or another – poor health, decreased mobility, vision and hearing problems, loss of good friends and family members and more, yet, so many seniors I know focus on the positive and strive to see the good side of every day.
It would be so easy to fall into despair and depression, yet an eternal optimism and sheer mental strength allows them to focus on the good.
Long lives of hard work and sacrifice has conditioned them to be grateful for what they have and allows them to shake off fears and worries of an unknown future.
I was surprised this week when I read in a secular magazine the Editor-in-Chief’s opening remarks about prayer of which there are many commonly recognized categories – prayers of petition, thankfulness, intercession, worship, adoration and praise, but he stated that “there’s one more type, the one that should perhaps be the most common and for some reason isn’t. The prayer of gratitude.”
He cites an example of a car accident that could have ended in loss of life but didn’t. Of course, he was leading up to a commentary on Thanksgiving. He concluded by saying that sometimes it seems the Giving Thanks part gets paid scant attention. This year, are you more aware than ever of how much you have to be thankful for?
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity
and it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
- Melody Beattie
Happy Thanksgiving!
Clinton Seniors Association kicked off their year of regular monthly meetings with a new member, Terry Tucker, and two special guests, Susan Swan and Diana Guerin.
Welcome, Terry, our good friend and neighbour. We’re happy you’ve joined the group.
Susan presented an informative report on the study sessions, workshops and Ministers’ meetings she attended at the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention the week of Sept. 10, while Diana, employed by B.C. Emergency Health Services, in her role of passing on information on Community Paramedicines in B.C. outlined a new, weekly exercise plan for residents of Clinton. It will likely be initiated this Fall in the Library. Watch for details. Thank you, ladies.
Don’t forget the elections in Clinton on Oct. 20. A new Mayor and Council members will be elected. Watch for details of an All-Candidates’ meeting.
Over the past several months, I have offered thoughts on the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the relevance of these virtues in our lives. Last but not least, consider self-control. Self-control is the ability to control oneself, in terms of having mastery over one’s desires and appetites. Those who are self-controlled can temper what they want, to ensure they don’t over indulge or do with less than they need.
St. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval philosopher and theologian, said that self-controlled people were able to ‘preserve their lives’. In other words, they were able to do the right things to keep themselves healthy and happy.
Self-control is the description of delaying impulse or gratification for a greater purpose or cause. When we exercise self-control, we are saying “no” for the sake of a bigger and better “yes.”
We teach our children self-control when we make them eat their vegetables before dessert. In order to develop self-control, we must first be honest with ourselves about our weaknesses.
Each one of us is different. Some of us are tempted to overeat, others by greed or gossip. Being aware of what tempts us allows us to work out struggles.
Some children grew up with an allowance for doing chores or a regular paying job like baby sitting or delivering newspapers. How hard it was for some of them to save that money for a substantial purpose.
Some spent it as quickly as they got it on candy or on some such whim. Self-control allows us to say “no” to something in the moment in favour of a greater “yes” in the future.
An important goal in the teen years is to help adolescents make that transition from external constraints (parental control) to internal boundaries (self-control). A parent desires their teens to make wise choices whether it’s clothing styles, us of cell phones or whatever.
Self-control is something many adults struggle with every day. They strive to know their own values. Fundamentally, self-control allows us to enjoy the good things of life in moderation, without wanting too much and knowing when we’ve had enough. We all at one time or another need to exercise self-control. It is mot limited to over eating or drinking. It is also about habits, which sometimes lead to obsessions and addictions. It’s about our relationships with others, the degree to which we more or less display temper, impatience and ingratitude.
Self-control isn’t about total abstinence. It’s about finding the right balance. There’s an old saying that “a little bit of what you fancy does you good” and provided it’s not illegal or actually damaging that is almost certainly true.
Denying yourself what you need is as bad as over indulging. It will certainly quickly remove quite a lot of joy from your life.
You can find the right balance by thinking through your desire and considering what ‘too little’ ‘too much’ and ‘just right’ would look like. Once you know you can strive for ‘just right’ and you are well on the way to developing self-control.
Foot Clinic will be Nov. 8. To discuss your foot care needs or to book an appointment, call Colleen Thom, RN, FCN, FCNEd at 1-250-819-1632.
Clinton Seniors Association Marketplace will be Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Clinton Memorial Hall. To rent a table for $10, call Eleanor at 250-459-2339. Vendors of commercial products are welcome.
The next regular general meeting of the Clinton Seniors Association is Oct. 18 following lunch at the Clinton Seniors Centre at 217 Smith Ave. Clinton Seniors Association meets every third Thursday of each month except for July and August. Annual membership is $15. Meetings follow a lunch of soup and sandwiches and cake at noon.
Three fundraisers are held each year. A Daffodil Tea is in March, a Yard Sale/Book and Bake Sale is July 1 and Marketplace is the first Saturday in November.
Christine Stella, we are all thinking of you, wishing for a speedy and complete recovery. Get well soon!
Happy Birthday to Christine Stella on Oct. 13, and to both Bill Holt and Catherine Turmel on Oct. 29. 29.
“Grow old with me. The best is yet to come.”
- Robert Browning
editorial@accjournal.ca
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