The conference continues with the most breathtaking array of material and an ethusiasm about older people and their care which is very powerful. I wonder if it would be possible for such an event to take place in the UK? I move between workshop and lecture interested in story telling, successful aging and spiritual care.

One dynamic continues to intrigue me. There is an uneasiness about the quality of our provision of care. In reply to the challenge about whether the group would attend the day centre (or senior centres as they are called here) very few put their hands up! Are we really providing these services that we wouldn’t be happy using ourselves? How far are we aware of what is wrong with the organizations that we oversee? Put another way – what kind of support and care do we need or want in our own old age?

Perhaps every generation needs to reinvent the wheel? What does post traditional old age look like for our generation? Will we plan and pay for it? And how deep is our desire to move and change in our present work – where are the gaps and do we want to fill them?!

Life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be entered into.

Live and Love the questions (Rilke)