Aging Joyfully

 

Riding the merry-go-round with Mom on her 80th birthday

Last month, Ingrid Fetell Lee, author of Joyful, wrote a wonderful article: Forget Aging Gracefully. Here's how to Age Joyfully.

The article is full of ideas of how we can age joyfully and ends with these insightful words:

Our goal shouldn’t be to cling to youth as we get older, but to keep our joy alive by tending our inner child throughout our days, while also nurturing our connection to the changing world. In doing so, we balance wisdom with wonder, confidence with curiosity, and depth with delight.

I love this description of joyful aging.  Lee's words remind us that wisdom, confidence, and depth come with experience and age, yet we can always experience wonder, curiosity, and delight at any age.  When we are burdened with the responsibilities of work and parenting, we may have a hard time finding the time to indulge our inner child.  Embracing my inner-child has never been a problem for me at any age.  I've loved participating in scavenger hunts, dress-up events, and festivals, with or without kids in tow!  However, when I had a full-time job, even when I wasn't physically in the office, my mind was often distracted thinking about work.

I'm finding this time of life as a semi-retired empty-nester full of possibilities! I have more freedom than I've ever had in my life!  There are so many places to explore, hobbies to try, foods to taste, podcasts to listen to, people to meet! 

Since discovering Ingrid Fetell Lee and the work she does on joy, I've become much more aware of what brings me joy.  The Joyspotters Society Facebook page is an active group where people post photos of things that bring them joy. I now notice my surroundings and see what a difference it can make to my mood when I witness joy... in a beautiful sunset, a smile, a flower, a puppy. 

I also have learned that we can do more than spot joy..   we can spread it. We will naturally spread it with our smiles and positivity, but we can also spread it by listening and being empathetic with others.  Our experiences over the years have taught us lessons in how to cope with challenges and how to come out stronger and more resilient.  As we age, we become more self-aware, and are able to have stronger, more authentic relationships.

This month I've been blogging about Older Americans Month. My goal has been to highlight resources for healthy aging. On top of that, though, I'm hoping anyone who reads these posts will recognize that aging is not something that we should dread, it is something to anticipate!