Last week, when my six-year-old granddaughter was visiting for her weekly ‘date’ with me, she posed questions about why leaves on trees change colour in autumn, fall off, and re-generate in spring. She asked, “Wouldn’t it be easier for the tree to keep its leaves all the time”? We were admiring the yellow, red and […]
Personal Growth
Do you squander precious retirement time?
For many people, retirement means freedom. Freedom from work and freedom from schedules. Freedom to live on one’s own terms and freedom to do as you please. It’s time to sleep when you want, eat when you want, and do what you want. That we can do as we wish every day is certainly true. […]
What does it mean to be rich?
What does being rich mean to you? Being rich is an arbitrary and discretionary concept. Everyone has their own idea of what it means. For many, being rich means having a certain sum of money — like a million dollars, or, perhaps five million dollars. A large amount of money creates financial security with no […]
Self-care or Self-indulgence?
At this morning’s yoga class, the instructor urged us to think about the difference between self-care and self-indulgence. She was urging the class to understand how to develop and nurture ourselves with yoga asanas, breathing techniques, and meditation. There is no question that yoga philosophy creates awareness of the choices we make in caring for […]
What do you want ‘to be’ when you grow old?
Have you noticed that as you grow older, nobody asks what you want ‘to be’? People stop asking questions about what’s next in your life. Is there an assumption that who you are at 60 or 70 or 80 is who you want to be for the rest of your life? Do we stop learning and […]
Have You Outgrown Yourself?
When your retirement life feels constricted, you might ask whether you have outgrown yourself. Whaaaat — you ask? How can that happen? In all likelihood, you have outgrown your retirement lifestyle. You planned a fulfilling and exciting retirement — not one that feels smaller with each passing year. Outgrowing oneself may be a natural progression of […]
Planning for a Successful New Year
Planning for a successful new year can happen anytime as each day signals the beginning of another year. However, most people use late December and early January for reflection about the past year and for musing about the year to come. Taking stock of the past year is useful. Looking back prepares the brain for […]
Daily Encounters with Ageism
Readers who reach a certain age and stage of life are familiar with the negatives of ageism. Older people are stereotyped — to a greater or lesser degree — as frail, helpless, irrelevant, troublesome, invisible, or demanding. Ageism is part of Western culture. It is often unintentional. Once someone is no longer in his or […]
Age Changes Life’s Perspective
Have you noticed that age changes your perspective on life? The ‘stuff’ of daily living matters less. There are fewer worries. It’s easier to ignore things that, in the past, might have led to anxiety, frustration, or anger. Negative events, though troubling, are more easily taken in stride. Thinking focuses on the present rather than dwelling […]
Increasing Happiness by Changing your Happiness Baseline
I’ve learned that we’re all born with a happiness baseline that can be improved from choices made every day. Happiness comes from within; increasing the natural happiness baseline comes from smart choices. Positive psychology studies refer to a ‘hedonic set point’ or general level of happiness that may go up or down during certain periods […]
