While watching our Elders and student volunteers play a lively game I call “Hit the Big Plastic Blow-up Ball”, I was reminded of a timeless scripture proverb. Most are probably familiar with the King James Version wording of Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Oh how I love these words! They echo through my mind, transporting me back to my childhood, to the voices of my mother and father, who taught me well. As you enjoy the pictures and video footage taken from the epic game you might find yourself asking, “If this isn’t a glimpse of a ‘merry heart’, what is?”
Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to see how other translations worded this proverb. My eyes were directed to the Douay-Rheims Bible, a translation from the Latin Vulgate to English made by members of the English College, Douai, in the service of the Catholic Church. The DRB reads: “A joyful mind maketh age flourishing: a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22. I really like the sound of “Age Flourishing”!
We have a mission at The Bridge at Highland. That mission: Radically Change the Landscape of Long-term Care Forever! Little moments like this are part of our mission strategy. This is what we are about; the reason why we come to work every day and proudly wear our Signature Healthcare name badge; we are in the “Age Flourishing” business!
Look again at those pictures. It’s so much more than a few elderly people and teenagers playing a made up game with $5 blow-up ball that probably won’t live to see many tomorrows; it’s an intergenerational moment, something very silly and yet still deeply spiritual; its evidence: “A joyful mind maketh age flourishing!