- The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.
- An
Elder-centered community commits to creating a Human Habitat where
life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals
and children. It is these relationships that provide the young and old
alike with a pathway to a life worth living.
- Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.
- An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.
- An
Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity
by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable
interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to
boredom.
- Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The
opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human
health.
- Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.
- An
Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down
bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible
decisionmaking authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands
of those closest to them.
- Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process. Human growth must never be separated from human life.
- Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.
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