Retirement As You Want It

Engaging in Creative Experiences Keeps Us Vibrant

A friend turned me on to this article by Herb Alpert, musician and artist. It resonates with me, as I too have been enlivened by finding my creative self in visual art in the last couple of years. I also feel very present when I'm creating my art work, in the moment. Hours pass without my noticing. It's a flow state that psychologist Csikszentmihalyi talks about. It's a wonderful feeling and seems to have ripple effects into other areas of my life.

Here is what Herb Alpert says about creativity and aging.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are? Playing the trumpet since I was eight years old has given me the feeling, throughout my life and career, of being in the exact, present moment of my life. An ageless feeling comes to me when practicing, recording or performing. I believe that it is a myth that only certain people are creative. Over 40 years ago I found that painting and sculpting gave me the same energy that playing the trumpet and making music did.

I say this because I find that people who have found a creative passion seem happier and more fulfilled. I practice playing the trumpet every day not just because it keeps me in shape, but also because it gives me energy. Creativity guides my life and I have learned so much from trying to grow as an artist and be honest with myself. But I can also get into trouble by judging myself too harshly or by comparing my gifts with someone else’s gifts.

My goal is to stay relaxed and keep moving forward. Finding ways to help others is another creative expression for me. Never underestimate the power of kindness. When I reach out to others, I find that my life has meaning… and not my age.


Herb Alpert is a musician and the “A” of A&M records. www.herbalpert.com

A New Metaphor For Aging

When I was young, I, like most people, dreaded the idea of being old. My experience with old was visiting my paternal grandmother, who lived her last years (until 102) curled up in a fetal position in a nursing home, unable or unwilling to carry on a conversation, nor to take care of herself in any way.

Now, considered "old" by that young self that I once was, I feel young, vibrant, always learning, challenging myself to encounter new things in any domain I experience.

What happened in those intervening decades?

We've had a longevity revolution. A wholly new age between adulthood and old age. True, my grandmother lived a very long life. But, she was always old, in my mind, even when she was my age now. Her life was static; her beliefs and ways of operating in the world were probably no different from the way they were in her 40's when she experienced massive disruption as a Jew in Vienna.

Jane Fonda gives an inspirational TEDxWomen talk where she creates a new metaphor for aging. Rather than seeing age as an arch, peaking in mid-life and then dipping into decrepitude, she prefers to use the metaphor of a staircase. A staircase ascends into infinity, where the human spirit continues to grow and thrive.

Sixty-six percent of what determines whether we will age well is under our control, research tells us; the other 33.3% has to do with our genetic inheritance. So, we have the power to make our "Third Age," the term often applied to people over age 50, as jubilant as we want it to be.

Fonda says we now have the freedom to choose how to respond to life as we encounter it, to determine what meaning we attach to any particular experience. As we do so in ways different from how we may have done when younger, we create new neural pathways in our brains, a process that increases brain power, rather than diminishes it.

What will you do today to choose growth and thriving, rather than mental and physical decrepitude?

 

Recent Alivelihood Guests Demonstrate Their Zest for Living

Now in the 4th year of interviewing guests on my TV show, "Alivelihood:New Adventures As We Age," I'm still enthralled with the sense of adventure, committment, and passion these people exude.

I'm not surprised, as I too have developed a sense of adventure in my years after 50. Much more than I did as a 20-something. What allows us to take more risks, to be more in the present, and to care less about how others view us? I think I'll write about this question in my next Huff/Post50 blog post. 

Check out these new videos on YouTube or Vimeo.

Art Singer retired from his 30+ year career in public broadcasting to write a book about one of his passions, the love of movies and Boston history and architecture. He did meticulous research about Boston's old "movie palaces," culminating in a book called Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces.

 

 

 

Kendall Dudley went from creating a database of the Islamic architecture he learned to love when in the Peace Corps, to teaching journal writing (depicted in the photo below), to using journaling for career coaching. His love of the visual, writing, teaching autobiography, and travel led him to taking small groups to Morocco to be "intentional travelers," rather than just tourists. He's working on a book, called:
 

A Traveler in The World of Work: Tools for Crossing into Your Own Land

which depicts his creative way of working with individuals seeking work to be passionate about.

 

Ava Berinstein went back to her love for the Mayan language she studied while a PhD student in linguistics back in her 20s. She left her mid-years' career in fundraising for non-profits after her child was launched. Now she's doing things that she's interested in, including resurrecting the language of a Mayan group she learned so much about decades ago. Her mission is to revitalize this almost-lost oral tradition by broadcasting the stories on the radio to villages in Guatemala that still speak it. Introduced to ethnic jewelry and design while doing her field work many years ago, she started to design jewelry, based on those early experiences. See Avala Beads to view her lovely designs.

Will You Be Dancing Into Your 90s?

When we see an old, old person in her 90's we imagine she will be decrepit, stooped over, with a walker or even a wheelchair. Imagine our surprise when this stooped over little woman bursts out in dance.

See this video, called "Mathilde's Solo." I couldn't watch it without tapping my foot and smiling.

How do we make it more probable that we will be thriving, energetic, loving our lives in our 90s?

One question: Are we loving who we are in our 50's, 60s and beyond? Or are we bemoaning our losses? losses of attractiveness, of energy, of flexibility, of resilience to injury? Are we bored with ourselves? Or do we constantly challenge ourselves to new learning, new creativity, new experiences?

I went to CVS to get a new passport photo today. I was chagrined to see the deeply carved frown mark between my eyes. In the professional photo I use, that frown mark is brushed out. "Can't you touch that up?" I asked the 20 year old kid who waited on me. "You look nice," he said.

My husband and I were digging up our veggie garden to get it ready for planting. All of a sudden, he threw down the pick axe he was heaving into the soil, yelled, and dropped down on his back. Even though he had warned me, "Watch your back," he completely forgot that he had been out of commission for weeks last fall because of herniated disks. But days later, he's still mostly pain-free, not writhing in agony as he was last fall. Why is that? Because he spent all these months strengthening his core to prevent further episodes.

How are you "strengthening your core" to steel yourself from injury, discomfort, loss of brain power, loss of enthusiasm? How are you making yourself resilient so that you too can dance at age 90-something? What are you doing to maintain your youthful exuberance while also solidifying the wisdom of maturity?

Write your stories of resiliency here in the comment section.

 

Exercising Your Creativity Keeps You Vibrant in Mind and Soul

Check out my Huff/Post50 article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karma-kitaj/creativity_b_1180007.html

It’s about exercising our creativity and how this affects us in our health, our spirit, and our motivation in all areas of life. I've written before about my starting to create art only 1 1/2  years ago, after meeting creativity coach and artist Sandra Shuman on my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age."

I got introduced by an artist friend, Lola Baltzell, to encaustic art, an ancient process of layering layers of hot wax on a porous surface and then painting on that and embedding collaging materials onto it. I fell in love with the process and set up an art studio of my own.

Recently, I began to participate in a course, called "Coach's Studio: Where Outrageously Creative Coaching Happens," based on the book Becoming a Life Change Artist by Fred Mandell and Kathy Jordan. So, I'm bringing my love for creating visual art into helping people to see their life changes as creative acts.

In the months since I wrote this Huffington Post article, I've gone full steam ahead with my art. What have I noticed about this process?

1. I'm in a totally present place when I create - in the zone
2. Time passes effortlessly
3. I've become more risk-taking ( in a safe way!) which encourages my creativity in other domains of life
4. I always have something joyful to anticipate.
5. Immersing myself in my art work has inspired me to promote creativity in others - my clients and friends - as I'm convinced of the benefits to our well-being when we exercise our right as well as left brain
   
6.  I keep stretching the boundaries of what I've done before - building new brain connections, which research tells us protects from cognitive dysfunction as we age.

1. 
   
   

 

Alivelihood Guests Demonstrate Their Zest For Lives After 50

Here are 3 more inspiring people from my TV show who are role models for people who want to embark on new initiatives in their 6th decade and older.

Lynn Serper was in the midst of completing her dissertation in special ed, when at age 48 she suffered a ruptured aneurism and cerebral stroke, leaving her aphasic and unable to live independently. After years of treatment and determination to succeed, she recovered her speech and writing skills. She went on to finish her degree and founded a company called Serper Method, in which she teaches people with cognitive dysfunction to retrieve and maintain their skills. 

Nancy Lelewer Sonnabend has been a researcher and speaker in the field of learning disabilities for all her adult life, being dyslexic herself and having children with cognitive disabilities. She was told she could never write a book, but published 2 – 1 about her struggles raising children with disabilities on her own   and the other about her childhood, growing up as a child with dyslexia when no one knew what that was.

 

 

Dianne Callan worked in the telecommunication field as a corporate atty  for 35 years, way before women entered that field. A math major, she was facile at picking up technology skills. She loved her job but was laid off when her company was sold in 2008. Since then she’s launched her encore career, wanting to make a difference working on issues that involve climate change and renewable energy.

See short clips of all Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age TV shows at my YouTube channel.

 

TV Show Exhibits Passionate People in Their Encore Careers

Here are some more of the inspirational people whom I've met and interviewed for my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age."

• Economics professor Mary Stevenson  semi-retired from her post of many decades, realizing that she wanted to use her facility for teaching in a completely new way. In her 50s she discovered that she no longer could neglect her body, even though it had always served her well. She started exercising, loved it, and began to take certifications in NIA, Ageless Grace, and Zumba -- methods that she is tailoring for the older population in classes in the Boston area.
  

 

• Kathie Malley-Morrison, psychology professor, researched and taught about violence in the home and in communities before turning her astute mind to even larger issues - violence in the world. Her new blog, "Engaging Peace" is an attempt to document all the ways that people world-wide are countering violence by peaceful means.

 

• Social worker, milliner, and beauty consultant Marilyn Feldman turned her humanitarian spirit to create "days of beauty" for homeless women in shelters all over the Boston area. She and 2 old friends from California founded "Glamour Project" which provides a personalized day of pampering to women who otherwise would not be able to see themselves as beautiful. 

Check out short clips of all of my shows at YouTube.

 

More Stories of People Who've Found New Adventures in the 3rd Age

Do you need inspiration about what your next act might be? Listen to the stories of some of the people whom I've interviewed for my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age."

• Florence Goulet emigrated to the US from Uganda where she grew up in a small village with parents who were illiterate, but intent on their children's being educated. She and all of her siblings went to college and when Florence came here, she decided to pass on this dedication to the children of her country. She founded a non-profit, the Stella-Rosie Foundation to help her send children in her village to school. 
  

• Jo-Ann Ross spent her middle career as a speech pathologist, a career she loved. She became renowned for working with aerobic instructors who injured their voices by having to yell over the music. But, she was ready for a change -- she always loved wine, drinking it, learning about it, researching it. She since has been trained as a high level wine educator and public speaker and is in her element passing on her love for wine to others.  

 

• Brookline Access TV Board member, Peter Miller, got his PhD after 35 years of being an ABD (all but dissertation). Even after decades of success in the field of promoting communications technology to meet the needs of underserved populations, he finds that the PhD has opened more doors for him to narrow the "digital divide." He hopes to involve more seniors in assisted living, people who live in housing projects, and teen centers into the world of computer technology.
  

Passionate People Speak About Their Lives Over 50

I've been interviewing passionate people over age 50 on my TV show, called "Alivelihood: New Adventures As We Age, for the past 4 years. Here are a few capsule summaries of recent guests:

• Joan Ditzion was an original founder of Our Bodies, Ourselves, the groundbreaking book about women's reproductive health and sexuality. It has been published in many languages and last year it celebrated its 40th year with the publication of its 9th edition. She talks about the impact that "the book" has had on her life. "I've grown up with OBOS," she gleefully declares, from being a young wife, then mother, than woman going through menopause, to grandmothering. She is thrilled to have met many of the women around the world who are translating the book's mission to reflect the culture of diverse communities.

 

• Margaret Morganroth Gullette, author of Agewise: Fighting the New Ageism in America, 
  and several other books on ageism, started her book writing career when her 1st book was just about to be featured in the major media and she was on her way to volunteer in her community's "sister city" in Nicaragua. That adventure has blossomed into a decades' long involvement where she has spearheaded many positive changes for women who want to get an education.
  
  

 

•   Dave Flanagan is a retired officer in the Coast Guard, an occupation that fascinated him for decades. Not content to withdraw from life after his exciting years on the seas, he became entranced with the bamboo he saw during his stint in Panama. Interested in conserving land, rather than seeing the rainforest and wildlife being devastated by being overly cut, he decided to work with locals to preserve it. This led to his next career, creating artful bamboo fences.
  

To see short clips of all of my shows, go to YouTube. If you are stuck about creating a joyful life after 50, these people are glorious role models of "alivelihood." I also coach people who are motivated to find their "calling," but not doing it on their own. Contact me at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com or Comment below this post.

Exercising Your Creativity Keeps You Vibrant in Mind and Soul

Check out my newest Huff/Post50 blog.

It’s about my exercising my creativity and how this affects us in our health, our spirit, and our motivation in all areas of life. I've written before about my starting to create art one year ago, after meeting Sandra Shuman, a wonderful creativity coach and artist on my TV show.

I got introduced by an artist friend, Lola Baltzell, to encaustic art, an ancient process of layering hot wax on a porous surface and then embedding any collaging materials onto that. I fell in love with the process and set up an art studio and create pictures a good part of the weekend.  Although I've only been doing this for a little over a year, I already think of myself differently... I look at the natural world in different ways. I notice things more. I am more present to myself and the environment. And I'm beginning to develop a new network of people who also express their innate creativity. 

See this picture and more at my Etsy shop.

Read my Huff/Post article to learn how this keeps you vibrant and healthy in ways you wouldn't expect. 

How do you want to express your creativity in the new year?

If you think you don't have a creative bone in your body, know that this is inaccurate. I found out last year! Come and work with me to find your creative gifts. I offer intro complimentary coaching meetings. Email me at Karma@LifeSpringCoaching.com.