~ Mary Oliver
Dogs love us not only because we feed them, or walk them, or groom them, or protect them, but because we are fun. If we could love each other like dogs love us, we would increase our understanding and joy in this world.
According to neuroeconomist Gregory Berns, "Dogs love us for things far beyond food, basically the same things that humans love us for. Things like social comfort and social bonds.”
When we find the right person in our lives we create a life of social comfort and increased joy. If we call this bond by its simple name, Love, we can also say, "Love is no small gift."
Sometimes we must recreate that moment of joy for someone who has forgotten it. Some people with Alzheimer's Disease forget who their loved ones are. This book,
Creating Moments of Joy: A Journal for Caregivers seeks to provide a method of focusing our energy to create moments of joy. As Alzheimer's Disease progresses, dementia worsens and people forget who they are and who are the ones they love. "As the disease progresses, their age regresses." A person with Alzheimer's loses their short-term memory, but in early stages may remember long-term memory events. They don't recognize themselves (and talk into the mirror) and they don't recognizes their spouses.
It is still possible, however, to create moments of joy for these people by re-creating a memory of something that was pleasurable in their past. Like love, these are no small treasures.
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