Along the Road of EDEN-June Update

This month we are diving deeper into what Eden truly is. The “Eden Alternative” is named for the alternative offered to the current form of Eldercare and Dr. Thomas’ belief that human beings do better when surrounded by the natural world. Humans are meant to live in a garden, not an institution. Together, he and his wife came up with the 10 principals of  Eden (listed on the right), that when applied, helps organizations to move away from their institutional practices and truly create a home for those living and working there. First we must look at the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom, that kill off the human spirit. Loneliness is the pain one feels when wanting companionship, helplessness is the pain felt when one is only receiving care but never giving it, being viewed as having nothing left to give, and boredom is the pain one feels when lacking variety and spontaneity in their life, feeling there are no surprises left. These three plagues are all preventable as well as curable. The answer to solving these plagues of the human spirit is to create an elder-centered community that commits to creating a human habitat that helps build and nurture relationships with plants, animals, and children. This provides the old as well as the young with a pathway for a life worth living! Institutions control lives while habitats nurture them.