11/20/2025
People see this scene and think it’s peaceful.
A cosy lounge.
Elderly people resting.
A TV mumbling away on the wall.
Music playing from somewhere nobody can find.
But look again.
These aren’t people “resting.”
They’re waiting.
They’re waiting because nothing is happening.
No purpose.
No stimulation.
No reason to lift their eyes from the floor.
The woman sleeping used to run her own business.
The man staring into space trained apprentices for 30 years.
Another one raised a family on her back and sheer willpower.
They all had lives full of activity, contribution, opinions, mistakes, joy, chaos, meaning.
And now they sit in silence, lined up against the wall like furniture.
Care homes talk about “activities.”
Families hear phrases like “meaningful engagement,” “daily stimulation,” “we do so much here.”
But the truth?
In too many places, activities are a line on a brochure—not a lived reality.
It’s not because staff don’t care.
It’s because the system is stretched, the rotas are thin, and the industry has learned to present care instead of deliver it.
But human beings don’t stop needing purpose because they grow old or develop dementia.
Purpose is the last thing we should take away.
This image is not disrespectful.
It’s the truth.
And truth is the starting point for change.
No more silent lounges full of forgotten lives.
No more pretending “just sitting” counts as a meaningful day.
We can do better.
And the people in this room deserve better.
