Ageing

Am I Old – or – Ageless?

Recently a friend sent me a photo that was taken in 2013. It was one I hadn’t seen before so it was so lovely to see it after all these years as it was a reminder of a very beautiful evening spent with equally beautiful friends, and it naturally got me to pondering about all that has unfolded in my life since that night. Continue reading “Am I Old – or – Ageless?”

Choices, Consequences & the Healing Process

I am sure that there are not many of us – maybe none of us – who can say we have never been unwell or have injured ourselves during the course of our life and as a result have had to make our way through the necessary healing process. I sure can’t say that, in fact looking back over the seven decades of my life, I seem to have had a life full of physical ups and downs and their subsequent healing processes and could consider myself an expert, but that is one area of expertise I could certainly do without laying claim to. It took until my early 60’s to begin to understand more about why I became unwell or why I injured myself, and one thing is very clear, there is always a reason. I have come to understand that everything comes down to each choice I have made and in some cases the sum total of all these choices that led to the consequences. Continue reading “Choices, Consequences & the Healing Process”

Acceptance and Appreciation of the Richness of Life

In the course of my everyday life, especially in the process of the job that I carry out three days a week, I have the joy to meet and to converse with many people who most would call elderly but who I prefer to call the elders of our community. And during the course of whatever form our relationship takes I get to hear much of their life story and as a result, I am more often than not totally amazed and inspired by the richness of the lives they have lived. Many have come to accept how their lives have changed and where they find themselves now, but some are really struggling to accept the changes that have often been forced upon them as a part of the ageing process. They want life to be as it was but deep down there is a sadness in the knowing that it will never be the same again, and so perhaps they are closed down to the fact that there could still be a most wonderful life to be lived until their last breath. Continue reading “Acceptance and Appreciation of the Richness of Life”

Falling in Love with my Ageing Feet.

So why would I write about a blog about my feet you may ask? I have asked myself that question a few times since the idea dropped into my ‘Ideas for blogs’ folder a few weeks ago. After a moment of consideration, I replied to myself – why not? – after all, I get the feeling that for so long I have taken my feet for granted; that there have not been many times when I have taken into consideration the massive job that they do to support me in my everyday life. In fact, with every footstep there they are, right with me as I move. Left, right, left right………..you get the picture? Continue reading “Falling in Love with my Ageing Feet.”

So – Where to from Here?

There have been many times in my life where I have asked the question – ‘Where to from here’ and maybe you have asked it too. And looking back it is clear that the times this question has been asked, have been those that are often called watershed moments, ones that come after our life changes in some shape or form. A time when we may stop – or be stopped – and realise that there is a choice to be made as to which way we go next; left, right or straight ahead, or maybe even back to where we have just come from. Continue reading “So – Where to from Here?”

It’s ok to feel Vulnerable!

At this time in history – April 2020 – when we are experiencing the world-wide outplay of the pandemic known as Covid-19, I am sure that there are many amongst us who are feeling very vulnerable right now; from the elders in our community to those whose health may be already compromised in some way, and those who live daily with various degrees of anxiousness, no matter what is going in in the world. I am also sure that those of us who are feeling very vulnerable, may also feel that this vulnerability could be seen as a weakness, and therefore something not to be shared with others in case we are judged. So, we keep how we are really feeling to ourselves and get on with our lives as best we can, but with this weight of vulnerability becoming heavier by the day it may begin to impact on our relationships, our lives and possibly our physical and mental health in some way. Continue reading “It’s ok to feel Vulnerable!”

Caring for Our Posture – At any Age

I knew when I had finished ‘Part 1’ of this most important topic of posture that I had only touched the surface of the crucial nature of posture for not only the ageing body but for all bodies, from a very early age. And so, when the opportunity to participate in a six-week class called Posture Connect arose I knew that I absolutely needed to say yes.

This class facilitated by Jane Torvaney, a wonderful physiotherapist from Scotland, was held online and if we couldn’t be there for the live session, she provided a recording for us to do over the following week, which was deeply appreciated. Continue reading “Caring for Our Posture – At any Age”

Adaptability and the Ageing Process

A friend of mine used the word adaptability the other day as the overseas conference she, and many of my friends were going to be attending was being affected by the ripple effects of the coronavirus. And as I read the word ‘adaptability’, I could instantly feel that this word is one that not only the world-wide family of humanity is being confronted with right now as life, as we have known it, is changing moment by moment, but a word those of us who are in the latter stages of our lives are also being confronted with regularly. Continue reading “Adaptability and the Ageing Process”

So how do we stay young and vital while we’re growing older?

I reconnected with a wonderful elderly woman the other day when I drove her across town to visit some friends. I had met her once before and, on that occasion, I was immediately blown away as to how amazing she looked, and this time was no exception. Her silver hair was beautifully styled, and the gorgeous, flowing pantsuit she was wearing was in one of my favourite colours – a pale lavender – although she shared that she preferred to call it hyacinth. She spoke very clearly and held herself straight, but not in a forced way, as we walked to my waiting car. It was obvious that I was in the company of someone who had managed to stay ‘young and vital’ as she was growing older. Continue reading “So how do we stay young and vital while we’re growing older?”

What’s ‘normal’ for an ageing body?

When I stop and observe the health of people around me and humanity’s health in general, it seems to me that we have come to accept many things in the medical field as normal when in truth, they are not. I am seeing that this is even more pronounced as we age. We to have come to accept that it’s normal to feel tired, to have indigestion, to have a consistently runny nose, just as a few examples. And for much of my life, I was one who considered these conditions to be normal, simply the way my body was meant to be. It’s taken a deep commitment to change my lifestyle – the way I am living, eating and working – to now know that these accepted normals are affecting our vitality and well-being, and in some cases making us more un-well. Continue reading “What’s ‘normal’ for an ageing body?”