Possibilities

"Is the universe a friendly place?" Einstein once said this was the most important question we can ask.

In the book, Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson, I was touched by the women's vocational centers that Wakil organized in Aghanistan. Originally meant to teach women to teach each other to weave and do other domestic crafts, they turned into centers where older women could learn to read and write Dari, Pashto, Arabic and English. The first women attending these classes told their friends, who told their friends, and soon there were long lists of applicants. And the instruction expanded into nutrition, diet, disease prevention, learning how to type, count money, and use the mobile phone. What a lovely example of people helping other people by empowering them with accurate information.

That is what I want with this blog: to provide accurate information that serves as support for those of us who are providing care to someone with dementia. Together we can support each other. It seems people and systems function best when they are supporting each other. I was saddened to read in the Wall Street Journal (4/23/10) that one of the reasons Bill Gate's program to eliminate polio is struggling is that religious extremists are telling Nigerians that polio vaccines sterilize Muslim girls.

Information can be accurate and used to support the life and progress of us all; or it can be misinformation or misused to create fear and stagnation.

Let's choose to empower ourselves and each other by sharing reliable information.