"uh! that is me...emptiness!

While approaching the table to get a cup of coffee, someone stopped me and asked, "how are you doing today?" I happily responded, "I am fine thank you and I asked her how about you?"....pause..."well, it is kind of hard to say...pause...finally she echoed, "uh! that is me...emptiness!" Kind of interesting to know in-depth about the word-"emptiness" what her interpretation of the word? and how it is relevant to her present life. ?

"Am I having my senior moment?"

"Yes, ten years ago I was....(hmmm...) I could not remember, uh! am I having a senior moment?" A 86 years old woman was trying to tell me the places she had visited but was unable to recall it. Nonetheless, she said this, "enjoy the precious moment of you life, while you are young." She gently walked with a cane as she smiled to me. What a joy to have an opportunity to be nurtured with the "words of wisdom" from a senior citizen.

"It is an old body with a new heart"

This soft-spoken man said, "every friday I am here to volunteer at this Bingo evening. It is very rewarding and meeting new people is a joy to me. I am 79 years old and fortunately, I am still capable to do this volunteer work." He added by saying, "It is an old body with a new heart." What a joy to see a dedicated person who continues to serve others in the community.

"Go with the flow of the water in river"

Seeing this person, a woman 86 years old sitting quitely alone the corridor of the recreation room, I greeted and asked her. "What is new happening under the sun?" She replied, "Go with the flow of the water in the river."
This sentence inspired me to stop and continued to listen to her. "Life needs to go on inspite of the difficulties in life" she added. She was very positive about her life. I was very touched with her inspiring words. It makes me to ponder, to meditate, to reflect and to discern the beauty of God's Love. John 3:16.

Reaching out.....

Professional Presentations

Workshop Presentations:

Oct 12-14, 2006 North Atlantic Regional Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Lake George, New York
Co-Presenter: Understanding Geriatric Depression.
Co-Presenter: Aging and Opportunity: New Trails to Blaze in Gerontological Counselor Education.
Presented: Tapping into the Rhythm of Life: Drumming, Empathy and the Elderly.

Sept 29-30, 2006 New York Counseling Association, Saratoga Spring, New York
Presented: 1st Century Wave of Challenges and Opportunities Counseling the Elderly.

June 13-17, 2006 33rd Annual Organizational Behavior Teaching Conference in Rochester, New York.
Presented: Diversity, Unity, and Harmony: Realizing human potential with the heartbeat of drums.

April 28-30, 2006 New York Mental Health Counselor Association Convention in Albany, New York
Presented: Rhythmic Art: Counselor Creates Empathy with Elderly Individuals in Group Counseling Through Rhythmic Hand Drumming.

March 5-8, 2006 Southern Gerontological Society Conference in Lexington, Kentucky
Presented: Integrating peaceful drumming in reminiscence group with elderly individuals.

Feb 9-12, 2006 32nd Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana
Presented: Rhythmic Art: Counselors Creates Empathy with Elderly Through Peaceful Rhythmic Hand Drumming.

Nov 4-6, 2005 New York State School Counseling Association, Rochester, New York
Presented: Challenges and Opportunities Counseling Asian Americans Students.

Oct 14-16, 2005 Multicultural Convocation, Nazareth College, Rochester, New Yor.k
Presented: Challenges and Opportunities: Ministering Asian Pacific Americans.

March 3-6, 2005 American Association at the For Geriatric Psychiatry 18th Annual Scientific Meeting, San Diego, CA
Presented a 30 minutes session on the topic: Understanding and Counseling Elderly Experiencing Loneliness and Depression

Nov 19-23, 2004 57th Annual Scientific Meeting, The Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC
Presented an Open Referred Roundtable topic: Understanding and Counseling Elderly Experiencing Loneliness and Depression

"There is a boy somewhere hungry"

While I was passing by this table, I saw this person was staring at her food on the table while her right hand was trying to move the first scoop of food into her mouth. I stopped and asked her, "What are you eating today?" She replied, "the food is too much for me" and "there is a boy hungry somewhere at this moment. " She feels very bad eating the delicious food, meanwhile knowing someone is hungry somewhere. She is 98 years old but still very sensitive of others' needs. What a blessing to know someone at this age, she is still very concern of poverty existing around the world. It can be very interesting to delve in-depth with this person lived experiences.

My 10 minutes with her, made her smile

It was a crowded dining hall, people were busy enjoying their food served for the lunch. I walked in and saw this person (103 years old) sitting down with her head staring on the dining table. I approached and greeted, "How are you today?" With her eyes opened and accompanied with a beautiful smile, she responded, "I am doing fine and what about you?" I responded, "I am doing very good today." With a smile, she said, "I like the mushroom soup today."

If we mean what we are really saying to others, the words can brighten their days. Let us not forget to give some positive words to one another even though we are busy in our own world. Time is very precious but just by stopping for few minutes to say "hello, how are you, and how is the day going?" can make a person's life brighter and cheerful.