Seniors in Harmony With Others

Seniors are frequently accused of being curmudgeonly negative, lacking in an optimistic world view. Shaped, as we are by the world around us, it behooves seniors to identify ways to be in harmony with neighbor, a contributor to positive vibrations in a world that gives off too many negative ones. Creating an environment and atmosphere that offers more opportunity for a harmonious convergence, requires a willingness to invite positive influences into your daily frame of mind.

Here are some places and ways to begin.

• Choose living a life of positives. Making daily decisions to live a life that contributes to harmony means being aware of what it takes to create harmony.  Be specific, practice, involve yourself with people who challenge you to be positive.  Take on negatives with understanding and purpose.

• Create your life space and circle of behaviors that encourage harmony. Music, conversation, moments of thoughtful silence, compliments of others, a willingness to listen,  reinforcement of others’ comments and ideas are ways to contribute to harmony.

• Greet and enter any place and group of people with a smile and a friendly demeanor. Don’t expect persons to respond to a frown or a down attitude.  Prepare the occasion for contributing to a positive experience.  Offer words, gentle nudges that invite encouragement.  Create a contagion of pleasant interchange.

• Be a giver more than a taker. Give others a sense of making for an experience of happiness.  If someone tends toward a downer attitude, help scoop them out of it.  Offer a bit of comic relief, help change the subject, give the person a moment to retreat from the negative and restore an air of feeling good about being in the group.

Most groups have a tendency to follow a leader.  That person, in a state of harmony, will not obviously dominate the setting, but will manage to assist the group to head off a negative flow of conversation, and invite a more uplifting interaction.

Contributing to harmony is an opportunity offered in any setting where two or three or more  are gathered.  The personality of the group will be fashioned after those who are the most likely to contribute to conversation.  If they tend to the negative, so will the group.  Finding ways to deter that from happening will take quick thought, ready comebacks, that are not insulting, a commitment to avoid put downs and a spirit of camaraderie coupled with the desire for pleasure among the group.