I can’t remember who said “Growing Old isn’t for Sissies”, but the
phrase shows up frequently in conversations and workshops on growing
older. It is one of those ‘true/cute’ maxims that makes you want to
laugh and cry at the same time. This blog is about enrolling everyone
in the idea that older age is something to look forward to and not fear
or resist. So it is probably worth spending some moments reflecting on
this phrase. It suggests that we need to have courage as we grow older.
Yes,
This is probably the last post before heading North and another change of season. The hardest thing about this kind of long-distance travel is trying to balance winter/summer wardrobes. Thank goodness for big suitcases. I am coming to the conclusion that an “Urban Lifestyle” is my preferred option in coming years.
I already mentioned that there doesn’t seem to be much of a conversation in Argentina about age at all. I used to share with my students that human beings are different from the
I am in Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks. I come a few times a year to work with clients and I have a kind of love affair with the Latin energy and enthusiasm for life one can feel here. This trip I am paying particular attention to the scene from the point-of-view of getting older and my enthusiasm for this blog and our project to transform the culture of aging.
It is interesting how we always see what we are looking for. In the past, I was focused on the numbers of young, good-looking and
By Lilly Page
I was watching Oprah recently, a program featuring a few of our
famous stars speaking on aging. They were talking about this whole idea
of what your real age is. One was only 50, so just a baby to
me, the other was 65 and didn’t look more than 55, but the one that
caught my eye was Diahann Carol at 71 years old. Yikes, she looked
fabulous!!!!
I
have always been one to mention my age, as I have always enjoyed
getting older. I intentionally want to give people younger than
I was having lunch with my friend Lori and her sister Carol, whom I
had not met before, last week. We’re all about the same age, and our
conversation started out very pleasantly. Then after a while, Carol
started expounding in a monotone voice about how terrible it was to be
getting older and how she absolutely hated the aging process. She
talked for 45 minutes in great detail about her aches and pains, her
failing eyesight and hearing,
I was having lunch with my friend Lori and her sister Carol, whom I
had not met before, last week. We’re all about the same age, and our
conversation started out very pleasantly. Then after a while, Carol
started expounding in a monotone voice about how terrible it was to be
getting older and how she absolutely hated the aging process. She
talked for 45 minutes in great detail about her aches and pains, her
failing eyesight and hearing, and her husband’s
My AARP magazine arrived today…the October issue with Sally Field on the cover. She is great, and as the article said over and over, she’s still
a pretty powerhouse at 60. It was an inspiring story, but then I have
always been a fan of hers. As I was thumbing through, however, I
Visiting with my long-time friend Dan this weekend, I shared with
him what I’m up to these days re. the aging conversation. The fact is,
he is one of the reasons I am passionate about growing older. I truly
admire the fact that he is becoming more ‘alive’ as he ages…
Check out our conversation at Curmudgeon’s Corner.
By Vincent DiBianca
Bio
A year or so ago, a few colleagues and I started to write a book
about the second half of life and how people could live a full and
fulfilling life until the day they die.
The treatise was that, in many ways, the second half could clearly
surpass the quality of experiences in the first half. I saw in my own
life and those around me profound examples of people 40 and older
reinventing their careers, physical condition and relationships.
Although I ran
I’ve asked a lot of people how old they would be if they really had a choice. In a recent essay entitled Complaint and the Blind Men,
Laurence Platt, who writes from his experience of Werner Erhard’s work,
wrote about the idea of choice as a creative act as opposed to a
conclusion based on some analytical reasoning. The message is that
happiness is the result of choosing ‘what is’, what some disciplines
call ‘profound acceptance’ or ‘surrender’.
There
aren’t many areas of