Inspired by Scholastica

With all our many kinds of social media today, social distancing isn't too big a problem when we are quarantined. We can contact people with Facebook, e-mail, I phone, FaceTime, Skype and programs I don't even know about. In fact, I've seen some young people use their pads or phones to talk even when the person they are calling might be in the same room. Recommendations for keeping a distance of six feet has proven to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Social distancing is do-able, but sometimes you really want to hold or hug the person you're talking to. When parents are reading stories to their children, it's nice to cuddle up with them. When you tell someone you love them, it seems natural to give them a kiss. Six feet is a little far to bend! In our monastery, we are separated from our elderly sisters who reside in our care center. Many of us are e-mailing, calling, or sending notes to them. Some of our sisters even put notes on their window...

During this coronavirus pandemic, we're doing all the precautions: washing hands often, staying a distance from people, not shaking hands, drinking lots of fluids, etc. Those who are employed are working from home if posssible. It almost feels like we're living in a cocoon cut off from the world. We want to reach out to help others but don't know how. I saw a cartoon the other day with a squirrel-like creature in the same quandary, not knowing what he could do to help. His friend says, "You are loved. Pass it on." So they start passing it on to other animals in the forest. Each panel said, "Youare loved. Pass it on." And that made me think of how everyone of us could pass it on. We could call our neighbors to be sure they have what they need, especially the elderly. We could send love notes to those in nursing homes. We could offer to take neighbors to the doctor for an appointment. We could make small care packages for the homeless. We could mak...

Attitude has a lot to do with how we live our lives. One 96-year-old man still plays golf, reads with the help of a device for the blind, and lives independently. “My hope is to stay as young in spirit as I can,” he says, inspired by Ashley Montagu, the British scientist, who said. “The goal in life is to die young as late as possible.” Many older people fail to have an optimistic  attitude. They feel that they cannot learn to use new devices because their minds have deteriorated or they cannot see well enough. Or they have too much pain to be active.   Or they are confined to a wheelchair and need a caregiver to take them to simple exercises.  While many elderly have legitimate reasons for their dependency, some have grown into negative or “poor me” thinking. They may refuse to make use of physical therapy to keep their bodies flexible. Or it takes too much time and patience to learn something new. Or they refuse to take medications that would reduce their pain...

Homelessness is a major problem in most cities and even small towns in the U.S..and around the world. What do you do with combat-damaged veterans  and the chronically homeless? Rockford, Ill., a town of 150,000 residents decided to tackle the issue  The town was hardhit by  the recession in the 1980s when many manufacturing jobs were lost. The town leaders found over 700 people homeless. The mayor got together city agencies and private organizations to work together to find a solution. They made a coordinated entry system which identified the people who were homeless. They listened to people's stories one on one, which made the process very personal. They focused on veterans first, who numbered about 100. Then they addressed those who were chronically homeless. They worked with various agencies and made a plan for each person. It took a year to reach zero for veteran homelessness and two more years to reach zero for chronic homelessness. The first need is providing...