James Redford (September 18, 1821 – December 18, 1908) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Perth North in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member from 1867 to 1872.
I think the macho mystique was far more a guiding principle in our Dad's generation than ours, the 'strong silent type' was much more common.
Dyslexia is a neurological issue, not a character flaw.
The word 'resilience,' in our American culture is closely aligned with 'grit,' and that word implies a certain moral fiber that says you can survive and thrive in any adversity, because you are strong - but that message of strength is both disqualifying and problematic.
There is a wonderful documentary called 'A Room to Breathe,' where a school brought in a TM instructor, to try and establish a better classroom environment, and the results and transformations were profound. It's impossible to ignore, and we make some passing references in my film, but 'A Room to Breathe' is a closer look at just how powerful meditation can be.
When you have really solid biology and medical science at the core of an issue, it makes it much easier to identify what potential solutions may be.
In middle age I've begun to embrace stress reducing behaviors. Just in doing yoga, for example, my health has improved dramatically.
I think everyone understands when these cycles are disrupted, especially in terms of institutionalized poverty, it's always will be difficult - patterns are put into place, and certain behaviors keep getting repeated.
Many people have overcome that home situation simply by having at least one caring adult, whether a teacher, mentor or religious leader.
I'm in full support of that technique [meditation] , and what David Lynch is doing. It's very important.
There needs to be the support and help around you, even when you may have an unhealthy home environment.
My grandfather was a prominent executive at Chevron (oil), and of course my father is a fairly radical and progressive environmentalist. But he was also a very active Democrat and pacifist. More importantly, he was one of the best storytellers I've ever met. I think that trait has been passed down the line, even to my kids.
What my previous film 'Paper Tigers' have proven, is that it can point toward helpful tools for change.
Resilience is not just a complimentary individual quality, but something that is built. And you build it through a number of things in your life, part of it being social fabric.
When you introduce these tools into the community, they can be adopted and implemented at the local level - and the results have been powerful. We have to ask the questions, how do people survive in poverty and other challenges of traumatic childhoods? And, until we fix this underlying problems, how do we help people in the meantime?
There is also a philosophy of less-is-more, and a little dignity that never hurt anybody. There are many qualities to admire about our father's generation.