Laguna Grove Care - Rooftop
624 Laguna Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Please join us to celebrate the release of Love Fills In The Blanks, an insightful heart-opening book that examines paradoxes of aging as they form from the direct experience of the author, Elizabeth Bugental, and many of her students, each of whom is more than seventy years of age. For Elizabeth, many things became apparent during the writing of this book. One is that we live in contradictions and paradoxes -- the main ones being that as we grow old, we are moreconscious of living than we are of dying and of finding than we are of losing. So it is natural that this book forms itself around paradoxes.

The book suggests that the "right conditions" for seeing and embracing the exquisite beauty that life offers us while at the same time experiencing difficulties that life presents us, are all present once we approach old age consciously -- although at times it is difficult to stay aware of the possible hidden in the seemingly impossible. The reality is that when we care for an ailing partner or adult child, contend with our own aches and pains, face unwanted surgeries, lose a spouse or sibling or friend, we get a rough shove into awareness. But with or with or without that shove, losses slowly mount and force us to wake up and deal with the inevitable. The paradoxes in this experience are a daunting and beautiful learning.

As Elizabeth says, "I find myself seeing them everywhere now and I find that comforting. No need to decide, but to just acknowledge both sides of the seeming contradictions, and to live enjoyably with one in each hand for better balance and perspective."