Barbara Morris

Let’s Treat Others As

We Want to Be Treated

“Civility is claiming and caring for one’s identity, needs and beliefs without degrading someone else’s in the process.” – Tomas Spath and Cassandra Dahnke, Founders of the Institute for Civility in Government

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On a talk show recently, the host and I were discussing retirement. He related the story of a friend, a CEO who couldn't wait to retire at 65. The pressure and stress of running a company had become so burdensome he was counting the days until it was all over. The time finally came and he spent two years playing golf, fishing and taking his wife on cruises. One day he … [Read more...] about Mature Brain Power: Don’t Waste Yours

There are two types of overwhelm: the type that’s triggered by external events and the type you self-impose. Both can be managed with the same technique. “I’m overwhelmed,” was my client’s first comment. You’ve been in that state of mind, and so have I. And, that’s what’s important to understand—overwhelm is a state of mind, not an actual event. Let’s look at a parallel … [Read more...] about What Does Feeling Overwhelmed Really Mean?

Last week I was standing before a group of women ( I would like to say my women but that would suggest I have started some kind of senior harem) who come eagerly to my "Senior Talk with Zenobia" class. The reason I say eagerly is because my first attempts at this in our senior community was met with major rolling of the eyes and whispers of "Who does she think she is" … [Read more...] about Fierce Old Age: An Old Tire Patched and Pumped to Keep Going

Let’s face it…the “eating fat will make you fat” hypothesis just doesn’t hold water. Dietary fat been vilified since the Ancel Keys days and his Seven Country Study in the late 50’s where he tried to prove the correlation between heart disease and eating fat saturated fat. Interestingly, Key’s study did find a correlation between eating saturated and fat and heart disease, but … [Read more...] about Eating Fat Will Make You Fat?

I love to do crossword puzzles. I buy books of New York Times "Monday" puzzles because they are supposed to be the easiest. More times than not, they are laced with clues from more difficult puzzles. But that's okay. I've learned I know more than I thought I knew. We all know a lot more than we think we know and much of what we don't realize we know, has been learned just by … [Read more...] about Aging: It Is What It Is?

In 1997 my friend Jan called to tell me that she had a surprise for me, and wanted to make sure I would be home. Now, Jan was the kind of friend that was always welcome, and in that year, even more welcome because I had left the familiarity of our Minneapolis community to move, out of necessity, to the northwest suburbs. I felt out of place and out of sorts. I was raising a … [Read more...] about Seniors: Snap Out Of It! Computers Don’t Bite!

I recently read two articles that should be mandatory reading for those about to retire, or in the early years of retirement. The first article, "Doctors: Is Retirement Overrated?" by Shelly Reese tells about a 63 year old retired doctor Dr. Doug Segan who now teaches part time. He said, "I bought into the cultural mantra that it's this promised land where you do what you … [Read more...] about Retirement: Is It Really Nirvana?