1. The
three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom account
for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.
2. 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.
3.
Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders
deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.
4. An
Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as
receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.
5. 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.
6.
Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity
to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human
health.
7.
Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring,
never its master.
8. An
Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing
top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the
maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the
Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.
9.
Creating an Elder-centered community is a never-ending process.
Human growth must never be separated from human life.
10.
Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the
three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.
