It’s easy to distinguish that the rugby player on the right is Matt Damon, but who is he shaking hands with?  Is that Nelson Mandela or Morgan Freeman?

Don’t  miss the film Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood.  Morgan Freeman is exceptional in the role of Nelson Mandela.  Freeman had known for a long time that he would some day play the role of Mandela.   When Nelson Mandela’s autobiography was published in 1995, Mandela was asked who he thought could play him on screen.  He cited the name of Morgan Freeman.

In a recent interview in Switzerland published in Migros Magazine, his interviewer said, “Mandela is a wise man; he’s 91 years old.  You are also getting older and therefore also becoming wise?”   Freeman’s response was, “Careful.  I am getting older, but I am not becoming old.”

Age is an attitude.  Nelson Mandela, Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood share the fact that they are getting older – as are we!  They also share age-esteem with a positive attitude toward age that will keep them from ever becoming “old”.

Bonnie Fatio, AgeEsteem

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Clint Eastwood

Isn’t it refreshing to see that this month’s top films include veteran actresses and actors? – And that they are starring in roles featuring their mature ages?

In these “Must See Films” we find Meryll Streep (60), Morgan Freeman (73),  Alec Baldwin (52), Steve Martin (65), with Colin Firth (50), and George Clooney who at 49 is bringing maturity to his charm.   Will he manage to cultivate the same charm that Clint Eastwood oozes at 80?

It takes AgeEsteem on the part of these icons of cinema to “act their age” on the screen, and to become real role models for us.  Thank you!

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Meryl Streep

It’s so refreshing to have an actress who is not afraid to act her age.   Meryl Streep is an icon of AgeEsteem.  She glows from the inside, plays roles that make her seem real rather than beautiful (though beautiful she is!), appears in public looking like someone we would like to meet and sit down for coffee and laugh with rather than Ms Perfection Celebrity.   Her laughter alone captures your heart.

In the film It’s Complicated, she plays the role of a woman who has been left for a younger woman only to have her former husband fall in love with her once again ten years later.   She doesn’t try to dress or act younger, but flaunts her mature femininity and sexuality that is so attractive and appealing.  Somehow we almost feel sorry for her old husband who is unable to keep up with his younger wife and her son.

Great AgeEsteem lessons come out of It’s Complicated :

• If life is complicated, it is because we make it so.
• When we are blind sided by circumstances we gather our own internal forces and move forward.
• You are not the same person today that you were yesterday.
• Social life with friends and family is important.
• We are responsible for our own actions.
• Humor is delicious and healing.
• Having a purpose and loving what we do keeps us focused on positives.
• Values need to be taken seriously.
• Love is real at all ages.

Bonnie AgeEsteemers, Au Cinema AgeEsteem, It's Complicated, mature femininity, Meryl Streep, sexuality

One of my favorite card over the holidays is copied below.  – Not the message on the card, but the message of the sender.

Why is it a favorite?  Because the words of June, the friend who wrote it, express how she puts her AgeEsteem to daily use via her

• acceptance of her present health,
• positive attitude,
• gratitude for what she has,
• social contact with others despite not getting out and about,
• interest in the lives of others and what is happening,
• continued purpose and contribution to others.

Precious Ones,

I hope all is well with you and your family and that you will be together for a Happy Festive Christmas…

Things here are ok.  I’m having to use the walker all the time to get around and don’t go out, only to the doctors.  My son and his wife were here the first of Nov. and took me shopping for necessities but that’s it.  I’m just happy I’m here where there are people and I have a nice warm room and plenty to eat, and at 93 that is a lot – Especially when I think of how many older people aren’t warm or have enough to eat.

I finally finished the 60 Hats of Love, (for Cancer patients) and 80 ski caps (for the needy) – my fingers don’t do quite as good as they did – and gave them all away – know they will keep some heads warm even if winter is cold…

June is a wonderful example of AgeEsteem for all ages.

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At dinner the other evening a friend in his 50’s shared his attraction to the beauty in older women.  He had just seen a woman in her 70’s who he was genuinely drawn to.  He said that she had the same beauty and special sparkle that Audrey Hepburn had.  As a woman of 66 I have to admit that it was refreshing to hear a good looking, intelligent  man admit to being attracted to someone older.

We tend to remember Audrey Hepburn as a young woman on the screen.  She was equally beautiful in her later years and continued to have that special inner glow.  The picture above was taken during her time as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) from 1988 to 1993 when she died.

Audrey Hepburn remains a wonderful AgeEsteem role model.

• She remained active with a purpose,  helping children throughout the world.
• Her joy of living was contagious via her smile, that also smothered her wrinkles.
• She was not afraid to do what she knew to be right.
• She lived her values.

Bonnie AgeEsteemers, Inner and Outer Beauty

Participants at an AgeEsteem presentation during an international woman’s conference in Africa came from Holland, Serre Leone, Nigeria, USA, Australia, Kenya, New Zealand, Wales, England, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Each shared one role model and the qualities  most admired in the person.  These role models were real people in their lives – people like you and me.

• An aunt who “had no education but taught through example how to have a gentle heart.”
• A friend who “is wise, not afraid to question, and even during difficult moments has time for her friends.  She gives positive feedback on how I can improve.”
• A boss who “is energetic and passionate, and concentrates on balancing a very high pressured professional life and her family.”
• A friend who “cares for herself and is elegant.”
• A colleague who “encourages others and is open, confident, asks questions, and is intelligent, strong and not afraid.”
• A top media personality “who interviews to highlight the good in people, is sincere, ethical and respected so people listen to her.”

No matter how different our cultures may be, many of the same qualities and attributes that we respect flow among our answers.  What any one of these women expressed, I could very well have highlighted in my life.  Probably the same is true for you.

This emphasizes even further that our words and actions carry the power to affect lives for better or worse.  Each day we have the opportunity to softly teach and influence through example.

Having strong AgeEsteem helps us to be natural models of influence.

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You are a constant model for others.

We never really know the influence that we have on others.  If you are like me there have been people who you could not even call by name who have left a lasting impact.

Life’s greatest lessons do not come from books or formal learning.  They are learned by watching others live and interact, listening to the intonation of their words, reading their expressions and feeling their emotions.

When we feel confident with age-esteem, we stand out as positive role models to others of all ages.   What an effective way to lead others towards a new image of age.   Be a living example!

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Deborah Joy Phelps

When Deborah Joy Phelps writes about food her story takes us beyond measurements, spices and herbs.  She stirs in the flavor of the cook’s personality.

Deborah Joy, now on the good side of 60, is an artist when it comes to meeting new people and truly connecting with them.  Her contact is immediate and spontaneous.  This is probably due to the fact that she loves people and is genuinely interested.  Since she is authentic and engaging in her interaction, people tend to show their genuine self with her and let down barriers.

Adding the essence of the cook to the recipie brings a special flavor beyond food.

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The Blewfield Clan

What a wonderful time post retirement seems to be for the cousins at the reunion in Paducah.   Everyone seems to be developing or focusing on genuine  interests.  And varied they are!

• Suzanne, who still works part-time in a law office  is submersed in the family genealogy and can trace her branch back to the Mayflower several times.  She is now writing a book about it.
• Bill, who is a retired professor and Fullbright Scholar, lives with poetry and has one of the best poetry resources, www.unf.edu/mudlark/
• Doreen complements working part-time as a mentor to student teachers with her passion for theater and acting on the local stage.
• Don “recycled” to become a pastor and acts as interim minister to congregations.  He also lives his passion as a cookie creator at the local bakery.
• Rose and David sold their house and now live in a motor home to experience new places across the nation.  Rose is a writer and David a photographer and using these passions.
• Gerard focuses on renewable energy and is sought out as an expert to speak and advise.   He also volunteers on clean water projects in Africa.
• Jeanie continues to nurse ailing birds, something that she has always done and is not ready to leave.  She loves what she does.

And this is just part of the cousins!

It is never too early or too late to develop your interests and passion.  It is an important aspect of personal age-esteem to love what you do.  It is a real elixir to building confidence and feeling vital.

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When I told friends we were headed to “Paducah”, they thought it was an exotic island or a joke.

Actually it is neither.  Paducah, Kentucky is hometown to two cousins.  We were going there to meet up with the Blewfield clan of cousins.   As children growing up in the Midwest, we spent a week each year with cousins in LaPorte, Indiana.  We swam, boated, had hamburger eating contests, and played from dawn til dark.  It was a highlight of summer.

Now 60 years later we still look forward to being together. The Cousin’s Reunion has become a tradition with a different person taking on the organization every two years.

This year a conversation revolved around benefits of being older.  -  Especially living our passions, investing time in work and activities we truly love and that build our confidence and age-esteem.

• We feel vibant and involved in new ways.
• People seek us out.  Our strengths are recognized and sought after.
• We are involved in amazing activities that give meaning to our lives.
• We are more tolerant and understanding, no longer sweating the small stuff.
• Our lives have greater perspective.

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