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Blog archive

September 2026

August 2026

Triumph Over Tragedy
08/31/2026

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained/Lost
08/30/2026

A Gallery of Neighbors: The Village Art Group’s Group Show
08/28/2026

A New and Improved Way to Stay Safer Online
08/28/2026

A Trip to The Geffen Galleries
08/28/2026

Barrier Free Living - A Path to Living a More Independent Lifestyle
08/28/2026

Conversations with Art
08/28/2026

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
08/28/2026

Member Connections with Music Conductor Bill Bing
08/28/2026

Pasadena Heritage Walking Tour
08/28/2026

In Their Hands
08/23/2026

Ease of Being: Managing the stuff of everyday life
08/20/2026

A Tribute to Fire Debris Remediators and Their Super-Sized Dump Trucks
08/18/2026

Really Irene?
08/15/2026

There Is A Risk
08/09/2026

2026 Year in Review
08/03/2026

A Message From Your Newly Elected President
08/03/2026

Neighborhoods Within the Village
08/03/2026

Reflection from PUSD Intern Isabella "Izzy" Roberts
08/03/2026

Reflection on Service & Joy from 2025/26 President Dick Myers
08/03/2026

The Villager Engagement Team Welcomed 54 New Villagers
08/03/2026

Treasurer’s Report
08/03/2026

What Activity! The Cultural Activities Team Report
08/03/2026

An Even Exchange
08/01/2026

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January 2026

Plans for 2022

By John Tuite
Posted: 12/22/2021
Tags:
Men's Time Topic Discussion for Tuesday, January 4th 

Welcome Men of the Village!  I am struck by the significance of the New Year:  2022!   It could be my last year on Earth!  It could be your last year on Earth…when seen in that context, it seems paltry in the light of resolutions…short term changes in behavior that we know, if successful, will affect our health, our weight, our eating patterns, our exercise habits, perhaps even our daily routines by adding prayer, meditation, or spiritual reading.

How are we going to address the weight, the influence, the meaning of this date in my life?  What things should I choose to think about this year, read about, talk about, discuss, and ruminate on?  Shall I choose twelve topics and spend a month on each learning twelve new facts? Astronomy, Zoology, Philosophy, History, the Brain…or other things of interest: the Spirit, the generations, the discovery of the animal Man, Religions, the Great Books….the topics go on...

I’m currently fascinated by David Brooks, the editorial writer for the New York Times, and a national motivational speaker.  I’m reading a book he wrote about four years ago which has the fascinating title, "The Road to Character."  Not easy reading but I find myself going back rereading pages, and searching for ideas and people whom I passed over rather quickly the first time.  That’s the kind of book that I call favorite, whether I like it or not, but I follow the author as a challenge, to figure out what he’s saying and what the basis of his/her arguments are.

In “The Road to Character” he focuses on the deeper values that should inform our lives.  Responding to what he calls the culture of the “Big Me”, which emphasizes external success, Brooks challenges us, and himself, to rebalance the scales between our “resume virtues”, success and fame, and our “eulogy virtues”, those that exist at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty, and faithfulness.  Something my Franciscan friend, Richard Rohr, calls “Falling Upward”.

He then traipses through history looking at a variety of people who found various ways of facing their circumstances and eking out a conclusion to the human question: “Was my life worth it?  Did I make a difference?”

What are your plans for 2022?  Tell us!

John Tuite
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