Grumpy Elders

Grumpy Elders! We passed an elderly woman out for a walk the other day, J. mentioned that she looked pretty miserable. I told her that she may not feel well. I could really empathize with her, as I have had my health problems recently. I feel frustrated and irritable when I am not up to par, don't have energy to do what I like to do.... Then I watched "Gran Torino" starring a grumpy old man Clint Eastwood. Spitting up blood and grieving his wife's recent death, he ended doing something heroic - givng his life for the good of the community at the end.
The next time you see someone looking grumpy, don't judge, show some compassion, some loving kindness, they may just be sick. thanks, ronSee More

Also, I don't think Clint's "Gran Torino" could have had accessed his "Good" without a young Vietnamese neighbor and a persistant young priest seeing the Good in him, despite his malady! Another point I would like to make, is that it is more than "lack of energy", it feels more like a drain of Life Force that is very frustrating.


As life becomes harder and more threatening, it also becomes richer, because the fewer expectations we have, the more the good things of life become unexpected gifts that we accept with gratitude.Etty Hillesum (An Interrupted life)
Jeeni Zucchini: I do get a kick out of some of my grumpy old friends... but I also enjoy the older dhamma folks I meet - who are radiant, with unusually good posture for oldsters. As to illness... it is for a reason. It forces ppl to do things differently.... Instead of busily doing, doing, doing... sick ppl must find new ways to express their creativity. My recent long term illness has brought out another me... a me that would have remained buried under all the busyness of my life... had I not been constrained by poor health.