Playing it Safe

“Sometimes we try to make people too safe.”

-Dayna Hurst

Playing it Safe

My friend Dayna Hurst provides eldercare, planning and implementation consulting for underfunded Catholic Religious Communities throughout the United States.  She has wonderful stories to tell about how many of those she has served have accepted change into their lives at a time when most would believe that change is impossible.  I enjoyed one such story last night while eating dinner with Dayna and her husband Cliff.

Dayna has made amazing progress related to improving the quality of life for the elderly, especially for those in care facilities.  One of her successful initiatives involves taking the elderly out on over night trips so they can be rejuvenated through play and a change of scenery.   On one occasion she called the son of a client who was ninety-nine years old to ask if his mother could participate in a short trip.

“We called and asked her son if we could take his mother on an outing and he gave us an emphatic no.  He said, ‘She isn’t well enough to go on an overnight trip.’  But we didn’t give up and he finally agreed to let us take her out for the day.”

Dayna went on to tell me the rest of the story and the lesson I learned was so valuable I wanted to share it with you.

“This ninety-nine year old woman’s daughter came to our chosen destination to make sure that her mother was safe and sound.  When she saw her mother playing basketball she broke into tears!  She said, ‘My mother played basketball in high school and I never thought I would ever see her play!’  When their mother has passed, they created a special fund to help pay for such activities!”

I sat memorized as Dayna talked and when she ended this revealing story she said, “Sometimes we try to make people too safe.”

Perhaps it’s just me, but I felt a whole lot of encouragement knowing that a woman who was ninety-nine years old still had the spunk to go out and unusually do the usual.  It made me wonder and think about the usual things I no longer do just because of the personal labels I’ve placed on myself.  Dayna’s remarkable story set my mind in motion with wonder and possibility.

Perhaps you and I should encourage each other to do the unusual and celebrate when it happens.  Doing what we love is possible no matter our age.  Being unusual in doing the usual will allow us to simply play and no longer follow the dismal path of playing it safe!