CHAPTER 3

Accepting What Is to Create What Can Be

Featured Narrative: Selma Ungar, 91-Year-Old Widow

I do change with the times; I don’t stay stuck with old habits.

“I get down like everybody else does. Believe me,” Selma Ungar is assuring me. We’ve been talking about her exuberance for life at a stage when many might choose to relinquish aspiration. I want to understand how she thrives in the midst of tumult and loss, rather than retreating and permitting those circumstances to define the outer parameters of her life. Because, the fact is, the configuration of Selma’s life has changed dramatically from what it once was. In some ways, that life was not atypical or unusual, despite its richness. She had a long marriage, raised a family, helped ...

Get Magnificent Leadership now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.