It is never too late for the elderly individuals to enjoy!

Just gathering for chit-chat can alos help the elderly to elevate their loneliness.

A blessing this elderly woman is still capable to lift her hands.

Dancing can be a joyful way for the elderly indidviduals to interact and still feel strong and healthy.

Another way how an elderly can continue to use his/her cognitive ability is by learning the computer and learning how to utilize the internet.

Whatever forms of slow and gentle exercises are really good for elderly too.

Tai-Chi is one of the many activities.

Dr.Rico in Borneo

Dr. Rico (MD) and I during our visit to Kinabalu National Park, Sabah Borneo.

...a joy to be treated as human...

What a blessinng for this elderly woman, she must be joyful because she is well treated by another human being.

Let us not forget about the value of "Filial Piety?

...it is similar to a useless junk car.

Today I asked a 92 year old man, "how do you describe your daily life activity?"

He answered, "it is similar to a useless junk car."

I really need to reflect what he means by this statement.

A heart of the sand!

You have heard the foot-steps on the sand. What about the heart on the sand? Let us never give up in giving love to our elderly parents.

They have raised us up and now is our time to care for them.

You have the heart-beats...

Drumming for the Elderly

Drumming for the Elderly is a product that focuses on rejuvenation, maintaining health and having a GREAT time. It is perfect for the mid-size to large nursing home, assisted living facility or retirement community looking for a very different recreational activity for its residents. Countless elderly persons who have participated in group drumming report that they feel energized, empowered, rejuvenated and enlivened after drumming. We can accommodate groups of 20-200.

We provide all of the instruments. Recent clinical research has demonstrated that group drumming stimulates brain activity and even has positive effects on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients.

A snapshot of the process of individual and group empowerment through drumming:

"I Drum . . . therefore I AM. When my hand hits the head of the drum, and I hear the sound that I produce, it re-affirms that I am alive and I do exist and I do create things with my energy that transform the world around me."

"There is something magical and primal about hitting a drum with your hand. You strike the drum- and the drum resonates. You feel the vibrations of the drum resonate through your whole body, and if you're lucky, your soul. You like what you feel: you like what you hear. You didn't know that your "rhythmically challenged" hands could produce such a pleasing sound on the drum. "

"All of the sudden, you are a child again. All of the sudden, you don't care about how much noise you are making, or what the people around you may think. You don't care that you're making a funny face while you play the drum, or that you may even be dancing a little bit strangely. You realize that you do have some rhythm after all. You're keeping a beat, aren't you?? You have a heart beat that maintains a steady beat- so all you are doing is following the rhythm of your heart. The person next to you joins in. Now, you feed off of her energy, and it makes you drum more intensely. And she feeds off of your energy, and it makes her play more intensely. Now you are sharing each other's rhythm, just as you are sharing the same air that both of you are breathing. No words are spoken, but a bond has been created between the two of you- a bond that re-affirms that you are young at heart, that you are full of life, and that you are connected."

Let Drumming for Wellness help you create that bond.

Article taken from: http://www.drummingforwellness.com/inside3.html

...it is painful but caring and loving toward an elderly person is also comforting...

I will post her latest picture (the result of how she looks) after the 7 weeks treatment.

I went home to Borneo to take care of my ailing mother. It was a very painful feeling to see her suffering with sick disease. She was referred to few medical doctors and even to two dermatologists. She is gradually recovering but really slow.

Seeing an elderly person suffering has taught me a great lesson of how to be a kind and loving caregiver. I took care of my mother for 7 weeks and the day of my departure to USA, she cried and cried. It was a heart breaking but I told God, "God take care of my mother."

elderly individuals' words of Borneo

The picture will remind us of our own life journey. The sunset and the sunrise can represent the beauty of life.

It was a privileged for me to have return to Borneo for seven weeks. I visited many homebound elderly individuals. I did have the chance to visit and talk with them.

Some remarkable comments about their own situations:

"I am stupid now, I am an old man" -age 82 male

"How long can I stay like this, I am waiting for my time to go" - age 88 female

"I hope younger generations are more respectful" - age 80 female

"I am not ok, I cannot remember anything" - age 84 female

"I am old but I still do a lot of work" - age 80 male

...singing is good for health!

Well to maintain our good health, singing is one of the many activities we can do too. Mr & Mrs Wildy were nominated as the "best entertainers" of the night. Mr. Wildy was unable to sing without his beloved wife therefore he invited his wife to duet with him! At least they entertained the audiences who might be very lonely that night. They made people laughed and laughed.

Healthy body, mind, and soul

This elderly woman is enjoying herself.

I returned from Borneo yesterday and still trying to recover from the terrible jet lag, stomach pain and headache.

Being in Borneo for seven weeks, I had conducted few workshops. One of the workshops is called "Healthy body, mind and soul." The participants were between the ages of 14 to 80 years old.