Who better to lend perspective on coping with the ongoing effects of COVID-19 than seniors, who have seen and heard a lot in their day.

Global News asked for their best advice.

Look to your heroes

With our cameras staying clear of long-term care homes during the pandemic, staff at Edmonton’s Canterbury Court filmed residents and shared their words with Global News.

Tom Houlihan was one of several seniors to provide sage advice.

“A message of encouragement you’d like to send to others?” he said.

“Stay strong, stay resilient, stay happy, keep smiling, walk every day. And most important: say hello to your loved ones.”

Houlihan added, “And we shall overcome.”

He paused, and repeated quietly, “We shall overcome,” and then, his eyes twinkling, he asked the staff member filming him, “And you know who made that line famous? Martin Luther King. Have to give a shout-out to him.”

Editor’s note: Sadly, Tom Houlihan passed away unexpectedly this week. We were honoured to capture some of his wisdom during a time when families can’t be together. 

Keep busy

We met Opal Gano near her Holyrood home, under a favourite tree festooned with bird feeders.

Fitting then that her advice for weathering challenging times is to find peace in watching nature and the city around you.

[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]

But the 95-year-old cautions against spending all your time with gadgets. Same goes for kitchen utensils:

“I think at my age it’s time to forget what the stove looks like.”

Check your perspective

Douglas MacDougall shares that he graduated from dentistry school in 1941 and went straight into the army during the Second World War.

Considered one of the darkest periods in modern history, he describes it as “kind of a stressful time for some of us.”

A special thank you to all of the seniors who answered our call for video submissions, as well as the staff at Edmonton’s Canterbury Court for coordinating their Wise Words videos.

Source: Read Full Article