Eyres On The Road

In this episode, the Eyres explore questions about movies (on the eve of the Academy Awards) and discuss the role entertainment plays in our families. They also mention their new online course https://valuesparenting.com/how-to-live/ and talk about three generation connections in the modern world.

Unofficially, the full name of this podcast, now in its 16th year, is Eyres on the Road with the subtitle HOW TO LIVE The Second Half of Life. The Eyres, and most of their listeners are in that second half, that Autumn, (or if not, their parents are) and Richard and Linda are focusing more and more on the How-Tos of Autumn, focusing on relationships and the things that really matter, and how to do them better.

For Valentines Weekend, the Eyres are thinking about love--the love of friends. They discuss long term friendship, sibling friendship, group friendships and more, and they get into a discussion group called Inklings that they have maintained for nearly 60 years. They end with a discussion of beauty, and how we can find more of it in our lives.

Today the Eyres take us on a quick overview of their main website and review it as a "toolbox" for parents, grandparents, and families. This is the website where Joy School, Alexanders Adventures (responsibility stories) and "Eyres Free Books" can be found, along with new material on parent/grandparent teamwork.

In this episode, the Eyres discuss an online course they will be teaching about the changes and the differences between the first and second half of life. The emphasis and priority shifts from achievements to relationships and from doing to being. Then they explore the webpage https://valuesparenting.com/how-to-live/

The word that has been the overall title for the last few episodes (and for the accompanying articles at https://latterdaysaintmag.com/living-a-familycentric-life/) suggests that if we can put our families at the center of our lives and view both our circumstances and our opportunities through a familycentric lens...we will begin to find more meaning and more fulfillment in everything we do. Hear the Eyres conclusion to this series in this episode.

On this episode, the Eyres talk about the incredibly deceptive world we live in today--where AI can make it appear that someone we know and trust said something he never said at all. How do we combat deception, and how do we teach our kids to do so? How do we recognize a wolf in sheep's clothing? Is there a spiritual power we can tap into that discerns truth from error. For more, see https://latterdaysaintmag.com/discernment-in-a-time-of-deception/.

In this episode, Richard and Linda discuss how most other cultures in the world do a better job of honoring and "using" the wisdom and experience of their "seniors" than we do here in the American culture, where we tend to put our seniors "out to pasture." The Eyres then make some specific suggestions about how those over 70 (actually the fastest growing population segment) can make themselves more relevant.

In this episode, the Eyres review a current article they wrote at latterdaysaintmag.com on the factors that influence couples in deciding whether to try to become pregnant and have a child; and then Richard and Linda expand the discussion to what declining fertility means to the economies and cultures of developed countries around the world.

The Eyres dive deep in this episode into the question of declining birth rates and the seeming inability of developed countries around the world to replace their populations and maintain their work forces. The macro societal question of "demographic winter" is also a personal question for many couples who are trying to decide whether or not to have children. Also see cover story this weekend at latterdaysaintmag.com

Richard and Linda talk about a different kind of gifts on this episode--spiritual gifts in the form of new insights and eternal truths that they believe were part of a "Restoration" that occurred to start the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A God-initiated restoration is very different than a man-originated reformation and the Eyres discuss that difference today. (Corresponds to a current magazine cover, just google "Meridian Magazine")

Linda and Richard are in Phoenix this week and involved in discussions about how all parents worry about Social Media and Screen-Time, but not enough of us know about all the good and family-prioritizing influencers that are out there. How do we find the "good stuff" online, even as we are trying to protect from the bad? Then the Eyres turn to Christmas, and shifting the family focus from Santa to Jesus.

Today the Eyres do a deep dive into the questions of ageing, of relevance, of diversity, and of the enormous and growing (but undervalued and underused) asset of those who are over 70. If you are a senior, how do you stay relevant in your family, in your church, in your community? And if you are younger, how to you honor and tap in to the wisdom? Maybe, as in sports, we call the older divisions "Masters."

On the morning after Thanksgiving, Richard and Linda talk about their day of gratitude with their family and the guest family of refugees from Guatemala who joined them for the holiday. Is gratitude inversely related to how much we have? Why do those with less blessings seem to appreciate them more? Two of the Eyres' grandkids join them for part of the podcast.

In the Eyre family, R&SCF stands for Relationship and Spiritual Creation Facilitation. Richard and Linda have adopted a deliberate goal of getting their grown children away from their normal routine and responsibility for short R&SCF adult trips where communication and goal setting (spiritual creation) is fostered and facilitated. They are on a R&SCF trip at an ancient hacienda in central Mexico where they cast from today.

The Eyres start off today's show with a discussion of joy and humor and whether or not they are depending on the favorability of life's present circumstances. They then move to three words which shed light on the subject: an African word, a Japanese word, and an Indian word. Follow the Eyres on Instagram @richardlindaeyre to scroll for a table of contents of all Eyres on the Road episodes.

Richard and Linda discuss the Holiday Season and how our families can make the Gratitude of Thanksgiving lead into and prepare ourselves and our children for the true meaning and Grace of Christmas. "Gratitude," the Eyres say, "Is not just the Path to Happiness, it IS Happiness in its most obtainable form," and they read a little from the book they wrote a few years ago: DAILY THANKS.

Casting from Las Vegas today, the Eyres finish a discussion they started last episode about the 3-letter lesson ALM referring to the acts of mercy and compassion that Jesus called alms. An act of service or lifting is called an "almdeed" in the New Testament. They then juxtaposition that word with the 3-letter lesson WIN which is a blessing when we make it a win-win, and a curse when we make it a win-lose.

As the Eyres celebrate Richard's 80th birthday, their minds are on memories, traditions, and the coming holiday season. So instead of getting to their three-letter lesson of ALM, they merely introduce it for next week and spend the podcast talking about how family traditions are the glue that holds families together, and discussing how traditions actually ripen and grow with age.

On today's episode, Richard and Linda cast from Jackson Hole where they have spent the week with all nine of their children celebrating Richard's BIG birthday. As the party breaks up, they sit down with Saren to discuss her work with family and parent coaching and her extensive website PowerofFamilies.com.