Retirement As You Want It

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.

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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.

How to Thrive Over 50 in Huffington Post

See my blog post in the new edition of Huffington Post called Huff/Post50. www.huffingtonpost.com/karma-kitaj I write about how to thrive in the 3rd Age, focusing attention on some of the research that the positive psychology field has been doing. I remember decades ago that my mother used to write things she was grateful for in her gratitude journal. I guess this stuff has been around for a long time. It's "deceptively simple," as someone has commented on the Huff/Post blog. But, if you practice it regularly, you can apparently change the way your brain operates. If you go to the Huff/Post entry, mentioned above, please scroll down to the bottom and leave your comment. In order to do so, you have to either:

• sign into Huffington Post
• comment through your Facebook page
• or through Twitter

 

A recent NY Times article, titled "Boomers Hit New Self-Absorption Milestone: Age 65," paints boomers as being glum, having regrets, feeling that they failed to reach the promise of their youth. Sure, Boomers were raised with Spock in mind so their voices were given more credence than past generations. Certainly some Boomers were fortunate enough to ride the wave of education and more material affluence than their parents. Many sought out self-development workshops or psychotherapy. Many experimented with drugs or even made it a habit to relax using marijuana.

Despite this history, I can't say that I know any Boomers who are glum in this newly designated "Third Age." On the contrary, they are vibrant, active, looking for and creating lives of meaning and purpose, populating one of many lifelong learning institutes, taking their grandchildren on travel adventures, starting non-profits to benefit people whom they have met on their extensive travels, and on and on.

I am a member of an organization called the Life Planning Network that has engaged in planning for the International Conference on Positive Aging. The conferences are some of the most compelling that I've ever attended - full of eager, responsive, intelligent people who are writing books, starting organizations to benefit all different segments of the aging populations, and just want to be stimulated by like-minded people. Not glum, nor self-absorbed.

Doug Dickson, president of LPN in New England, wrote a response to the NYTimes article. He wrote: "We should be opening doors that enable boomers to apply their education, experience and energy to the solution of longstanding societal challenges.In this way, boomers benefit as caring individuals, and we all benefit from their contributions. And age becomes valued as a community asset, not a liability.

 

I wonder where Dan Barry, the author of the NY Times article cited above, hangs out. Not where I do, that's for sure. We ought to extend him an invitation to the next Positive Aging conference.

What's your experience with reaching 65? Comment below, please.

In Search of Wisdom by Guest Blogger Bev Scott

This time of economic melt-downs, religious and ethnic strife, natural and man-made disasters, war and political upheaval, has raised questions for me and many of those with whom I have conversations. We are asking, “Where is the wisdom to see our way through these challenges?”  Many self-proclaimed experts profess to have answers, but there seems to be little room for anyone to question, wonder or explore the possibilities. 

I remember these words from Charles Dickens in “A Tale of Two Cities,” which I found again recently in a book by Meg Wheatley, called Perseverance.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,

it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,

it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,

we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.

Each time I read these words, I find it a reflection of today. I am searching for the wisdom to find our way and to create the “best of times” with light and hope and belief in the future. In my search, I turned to the “Wisdom  Book” to hear luminaries from around the world speak about wisdom.

These people suggest that wisdom is about experience, learning and expressing who I am, opening my heart to what the world can show me. It is about dignity, respecting difference and loving deeply. Jane Goodall reminds us of the wisdom of the indigenous people who make decisions based on the effect it will have on people seven generations from now. 

Can we let go of our judgments and hostile language, be respectful and consider the possibilities for seven generations hence? Can we change our hearts from selfish personal pursuits to what is best for the planet and all of the creatures on it?  Can we find the wisdom to ask the right questions, listen to the possibilities and be open to change our hearts and minds? What are your thoughts …your wisdom?

Bev Scott is the founder and designer of The 3^rd Act, offering opportunities for mid-life boomers to create a life of passion, meaning, fulfillment and fun.  3^rd Act workshops and coaching provide guidance and advice through a rich personal life planning process.  Bev can be reached at bev@the3rdact.com. 

 

Creative Pursuits Linked to Health & Well-Being

The most important take-away for me from the Positive Aging Conference held in St. Pete's Fl in December was: Build creative pursuits into my daily life. So, how am I going to do that? I find it's hard to carve out a time to do this, unless I sign up for a class or workshop. Here are a few things I've thought about doing:

• find a dance class to do with my husband - Zumba, hip hop - something that keeps my energy up and uses muscles I wouldn't normally use in my horseback riding or at the gym
• improvisational acting 
• Japanese Zen painting, a class which I took last year at Kripalu in Lenox, Massachusetts, bought materials, and have not done more than once or twice since then!
• Singing for non-singers (me!)

At the Positive Aging Conference, Susan Perlstein (see photo below), of the National Center for Creative Aging, spoke about the research that's been done on people age 80+ who were exposed to art classes in senior centers. Surprisingly, this relatively small change in their lives brought unexpectedly profound results. It reduced the need for long-term care, it improved their health on a number of indices, and they did better on depression scales, one of the risk factors for aging. 
 

I recently interviewed Louise Weinberg for my TV show, "Alivelihood: New Careers As We Age." She is an encore careerist who switched in her middle years from being a psychotherapist to being an artist. Always interested in education, she started teaching classes to beginners at the local senior center. People have flocked to these classes - now we have clues as to why they do, based on the research by the Center for Creative Aging.

What are you doing to stimulate the parts of your brain that engage in creative experiences?

Your Longevity is Due to Lifestyle Choices That You Can Control

Do you know that 75% of your longevity is based on lifestyle choices that you can control, not on your genetic heritage? In this epidemic of obesity in the US, longevity of children went DOWN compared to their parents' generation. Yikes! How do we turn this around?

I always think I take after my paternal grandmother, who lived to 102, but I could just as well have the genes of her 2 sons, my father included, who died "young," 70 and younger. So, I take care of myself - exercise, eat well. 

What if your whole community were dedicated to this concept of vitality, of living well until the (late) end of your life?

Albert Lea, MN is just such a town. AARP and the Blue Zones Vitality Project sponsored programs that crossed all the boundaries in this small mid-western town. 3464 residents of all ages participated. Listen to what they did and what happened.   

Joel Spoonheim, Director of Health Initiatives, Blue Zones, spoke to an audience at the Positive Aging Conference. This is what people do who live long healthy lives, he said:

• Keep moving
• Downshift for 15 minutes every day
• Eat a plant-based diet 
• Stop eating when 80% full
• Eat meat like a condiment Photo by Allen Brisson-Smith
• Drink 1 glass of red wine daily
• Create a healthy social network
• Engage in spiritual activities
• Make family and friendships matter 
• Find sense of purpose and pursue it with passion

What did Albert Lea, MN do?

• 2/3 of locally owned restaurants pledged to offer 1/2 size portions at 75% of cost (win-win!)
• Employers pledged to offer healthy or no snacks at meetings, to have standing or walking meetings, to offer healthy choices in vending machines, and to make stairways inviting
• Friends formed teams for walking and gardening together

The life expectancy of the sample of people who took an evaluation increased by 2.9 years. But, even more impressive are the stories of people who tell how differently they feel - their bodies, their souls, their sense of community. See The Miracle Makeover in Jan/Feb 2010 AARP Magazine.

What is your community doing to increase healthy longevity??

How to Reinvent Ourselves in the 2nd Half of Life

Who are you in the 2nd ½ of life? How do you want to reinvent yourself so that you can live creatively and meaningfully? Gregg Levoy, author of Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life, addressed the group at the Positive Aging Conference last week. He “called” for us to let go of our familiar selves and embrace what we will become. The sense of urgency is turned up, he suggested, as we face fewer years ahead than what we came from.   

How many of you, despite your vitality and energy, are heeding a call to re-balance, restructure, re-invent yourself for these next decades? Postponing what you dreamed of doing or being is a “less viable option.” Levoy challenged us to take a new look at our various roles of worker, parent, spouse, son or daughter. To examine our career path, to acquaint ourselves with what we’re passionate about. To clarify our values, and to respond to a call of wonder, of learning. To approach life with “devoted curiosity.” 

Where is the friction in our lives, where “our walk doesn’t match our talk?” If we pay attention to our bodies, he tells us, we will notice where these rough edges lie. If we fail to express ourselves, we run the risk of it becoming a symptom, like obesity, like smoking or drinking addictions, like having aches and pains, like insomnia.

How do we become aware of these callings? “It’s the scrawny cry, not the burning bush,” Levoy tells us. These callings are not often heard at a high decibel range, urging us to do something different. They can be subtle and mysterious, symbolic even, not always recognized as a call. The call can occur in a dream. Or in some serendipitous occurrence.

But, we can be open to hearing, experiencing, picking up the message. And it calls for a response. Not any impulsive response of quitting what we are doing now and going off to an island; no, but a response, nevertheless. A way of listening, of sorting and experimenting.

When we face our 2nd ½ of life, we need to ask ourselves, what is it going to take to discover our authentic selves and to live that life? What do we want to give up? What do we want to add? Make room for? Experience anew? Experience for the first time? Levoy put forth questions for us to ask ourselves, questions that can elicit a discovery of what calls us into this next period of our lives, a time that requires different skills and attitudes than what went before. Check back to read my next post for the questions.

Singer-Songwriter Barbara McAfee Charmed Us at the Positive Aging Conference

Do you use music and singing to calm yourself or energize or build community? The Life Planning Network offered a day's pre-conference at the Positive Aging Conference in St. Petersburg Florida last week.

Barbara McAfee led the group in hours of song. Since her birthday is coming up, rather than sing her the traditional "Happy Birthday" song, she taught us this one: listen up here.

Even for me who believes I cannot carry a tune, she got me out there singing for hours with the whole community. What a joy. Music seems to get right to the soul. I guess that's why children and people in 3rd World countries do it so often. 

Go to Barbara McAfee's website - you're fortunate if you're in the Twin Cities in Minnesota, because you can go to her song fests regularly.   

Honoring Dr. Gene Cohen, Positive Aging Researcher

I'm looking forward to a few days in St. Pete's, Florida, where the next Positive Aging Conference will be held in December. Two years ago, there was an inspirational keynote speaker named Dr. Gene Cohen, known for his research and development of games geared toward developing possibility and potential, rather than thinking of aging as a disease. He was upbeat, enthusiastic, and engaged.

Sadly, he died "young" for these days, at age 65, from prostate cancer. As quoted in the Washington Post article by Patricia Sullivan, "He wanted to move the paradigm from a focus on problems to a focus on potentials," said Gay Hanna from the Center for Creative Aging.

He became an inventor of games after he turned 50; the latest was Making Memories Together, a way to engage Alzheimer's patients to remember. He was inspired by his father's Alzheimer's disease to create video biographies, another way to reach people whose memories have become impaired.

His presence will be missed at this next Positive Aging conference!