[Music]
it was just a normal day really me going
downstairs to do my laundry in the
middle of the night as usual on the way
down I ran into a nurse working in the
building and we started chit-chatting
and she asked me who have I spent time
with lately who might be my favorite
neighbor etc then suddenly just like
that I found out that one of my
neighbors someone I used to watch TV in
the corridor had died few days back this
is just one example from day-to-day life
while living in an old folks home in
Helsinki
of course I’ve happier memories from
that time that happens like this but you
might say that death is always present
in places like my former home and
naturally people died in all kinds of
apartment buildings but the possibility
to face death in old folks home is much
higher than in place someone like me
would normally live for always think is
like me I think death the shadow like
figure wearing a black cape usually
appears to be a distant and a scary
thing I dare to say that most people of
my own age are afraid of death since it
follows us and our loved ones up when we
least expected just as it did for my
older friend who always greeted me so
happily when I sat next to her to watch
on TV anyway we have a system in Finland
where we have the elderly people to live
in their own homes and we throw them
into facilities where they’re never seen
again before they’re placed on the crown
but they used to be a time when the
concept of family was much broader the
grandparents also belong to the family
and they usually leave it under the same
roof with their children grandchildren
and so on and people also died at home
surrounded by the family which i think
is one reason why people face death more
often in their lives but nowadays it
seems to be a very different story
last autumn I moved into a building with
around 120 elderly people and to people
of my knowledge and the day went like
this my rent was much cheaper than the
normal market price and in return I was
expected to spend three to five hours a
week with my elderly neighbors this the
way I spent time with them was
completely up to me so as you can
imagine I ended up here in the same most
stories of the second world war over and
over again but I also heard the most
interesting stories the happy ones and
the sad ones with my neighbors I went to
the museum different restaurants and
even drank a glass to sparking wine on
the top of hotel at the railway station
normally I would just go knock one of my
neighbours door and ask do you wanna
hang out and the response was usually
yes come on in but I know that there are
many valid reasons why these days we
delivered our parents after we become
adults but at the same time loneliness
isolation and exclusion are growing
problems in our society both for young
and old and that’s why I think we need
new ways of thinking new ideas how to
bring people who would normally have
opportunities to interact together and
the project I was part of is one way to
do it but definitely not the only one
often when I told someone that I live in
our folks home
the response was usually something like
oh that’s great philosophy does paint
Omikron is that such an important work
you do but then it got me thinking if it
is so great and such an important thing
why can it more people do the same and
I’m not saying that everyone should run
out now and call their parents or
grandparents or parents elope perhaps
and move back in with them because that
could be tough right I just want
everyone to think why things are like
they are and consider that it had to be
like this this nowadays in Finland the
government wants the elderly people to
live in their own homes as long as
possible
would it be possible for a young adult
and a brownie to become roommates for
instance or could there be more
apartments available in all folks homes
for students so that they could be more
interaction between the old and young
and maybe one new solution for the
student and youth housing problems one
of my neighbors put him Birds really
nicely she wished that the young people
like me could be like the son for them
to being enjoy and passion for living
back to their lives
another neighbor enjoy talking about
something else turn Till’s and aching
body parts all day long but all in all I
think young can bring change in
perspective for the old people
but my experience tell me that works the
other way around as well so the young
can bring a new kind of life that
wouldn’t normally exist in our folks
home for instance and the only return
can teach us about a very different kind
of life and what it means to become old
and also to die however some might
wonder if young enough people have
anything in common but I dare to say
that yes we do of course we come from
different times we might have different
opinions but eventually I think
everybody is young from the inside and
in some ways nobody really feels
themselves to be old with my other
friends I have many conversations about
TV shows politics drinking sex and of
course this one of the lessons I learned
from my neighbors is that death isn’t
always about an available thing as your
firsthand how death is natural and
sometimes it can also be merciful I
heard many times elderly people saying
how they wish they could finally leave
this place and talking about not going
to live alone anymore
hearing such things can be shocking at
first but then you realized that there
comes a time for most of us when our
lives aren’t anymore what they used to
be on top of that spending almost a
century on this planet might be quite
trying for anyone and that point the one
scary figure might appear to be quite
friendly and you might be able to face
death as equals so to speak and that
attitude she was this may be the most
important lesson I learned from my
neighbors thank you
[Applause]
it was just a normal day really me going
downstairs to do my laundry in the
middle of the night as usual on the way
down I ran into a nurse working in the
building and we started chit-chatting
and she asked me who have I spent time
with lately who might be my favorite
neighbor etc then suddenly just like
that I found out that one of my
neighbors someone I used to watch TV in
the corridor had died few days back this
is just one example from day-to-day life
while living in an old folks home in
Helsinki
of course I’ve happier memories from
that time that happens like this but you
might say that death is always present
in places like my former home and
naturally people died in all kinds of
apartment buildings but the possibility
to face death in old folks home is much
higher than in place someone like me
would normally live for always think is
like me I think death the shadow like
figure wearing a black cape usually
appears to be a distant and a scary
thing I dare to say that most people of
my own age are afraid of death since it
follows us and our loved ones up when we
least expected just as it did for my
older friend who always greeted me so
happily when I sat next to her to watch
on TV anyway we have a system in Finland
where we have the elderly people to live
in their own homes and we throw them
into facilities where they’re never seen
again before they’re placed on the crown
but they used to be a time when the
concept of family was much broader the
grandparents also belong to the family
and they usually leave it under the same
roof with their children grandchildren
and so on and people also died at home
surrounded by the family which i think
is one reason why people face death more
often in their lives but nowadays it
seems to be a very different story
last autumn I moved into a building with
around 120 elderly people and to people
of my knowledge and the day went like
this my rent was much cheaper than the
normal market price and in return I was
expected to spend three to five hours a
week with my elderly neighbors this the
way I spent time with them was
completely up to me so as you can
imagine I ended up here in the same most
stories of the second world war over and
over again but I also heard the most
interesting stories the happy ones and
the sad ones with my neighbors I went to
the museum different restaurants and
even drank a glass to sparking wine on
the top of hotel at the railway station
normally I would just go knock one of my
neighbours door and ask do you wanna
hang out and the response was usually
yes come on in but I know that there are
many valid reasons why these days we
delivered our parents after we become
adults but at the same time loneliness
isolation and exclusion are growing
problems in our society both for young
and old and that’s why I think we need
new ways of thinking new ideas how to
bring people who would normally have
opportunities to interact together and
the project I was part of is one way to
do it but definitely not the only one
often when I told someone that I live in
our folks home
the response was usually something like
oh that’s great philosophy does paint
Omikron is that such an important work
you do but then it got me thinking if it
is so great and such an important thing
why can it more people do the same and
I’m not saying that everyone should run
out now and call their parents or
grandparents or parents elope perhaps
and move back in with them because that
could be tough right I just want
everyone to think why things are like
they are and consider that it had to be
like this this nowadays in Finland the
government wants the elderly people to
live in their own homes as long as
possible
would it be possible for a young adult
and a brownie to become roommates for
instance or could there be more
apartments available in all folks homes
for students so that they could be more
interaction between the old and young
and maybe one new solution for the
student and youth housing problems one
of my neighbors put him Birds really
nicely she wished that the young people
like me could be like the son for them
to being enjoy and passion for living
back to their lives
another neighbor enjoy talking about
something else turn Till’s and aching
body parts all day long but all in all I
think young can bring change in
perspective for the old people
but my experience tell me that works the
other way around as well so the young
can bring a new kind of life that
wouldn’t normally exist in our folks
home for instance and the only return
can teach us about a very different kind
of life and what it means to become old
and also to die however some might
wonder if young enough people have
anything in common but I dare to say
that yes we do of course we come from
different times we might have different
opinions but eventually I think
everybody is young from the inside and
in some ways nobody really feels
themselves to be old with my other
friends I have many conversations about
TV shows politics drinking sex and of
course this one of the lessons I learned
from my neighbors is that death isn’t
always about an available thing as your
firsthand how death is natural and
sometimes it can also be merciful I
heard many times elderly people saying
how they wish they could finally leave
this place and talking about not going
to live alone anymore
hearing such things can be shocking at
first but then you realized that there
comes a time for most of us when our
lives aren’t anymore what they used to
be on top of that spending almost a
century on this planet might be quite
trying for anyone and that point the one
scary figure might appear to be quite
friendly and you might be able to face
death as equals so to speak and that
attitude she was this may be the most
important lesson I learned from my
neighbors thank you
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: