Vieillir En Beauté

Vieillir en beauté, c’est vieillir avec son coeur;

Sans remord, sans regret, sans regarder l’heure;

Aller de l’avant, arrêter d’avoir peur;

Car, à chaque âge, se rattache un bonheur.

Vieillir en beauté, c’est vieillir avec son corps;

Le garder sain en dedans, beau en dehors.

Ne jamais abdiquer devant un effort.

L’âge n’a rien à voir avec la mort.

Vieillir en beauté, c’est donner un coup de pouce

À ceux qui se sentent perdus dans la brousse,

Qui ne croient plus que la vie peut être douce

Et qu’il y a toujours quelqu’un à la rescousse.

Vieillir en beauté, c’est vieillir positivement.

Ne pas pleurer sur ses souvenirs d’antan.

Être fier d’avoir les cheveux blancs,

Car, pour être heureux, on a encore le temps.

Vieillir en beauté, c’est vieillir avec amour,

Savoir donner sans rien attendre en retour;

Car, où que l’on soit, à l’aube du jour,

Il y a quelqu’un à qui dire bonjour.

Vieillir en beauté, c’est vieillir avec espoir;

Être content de soi en se couchant le soir.

Et lorsque viendra le point de non-recevoir,

Se dire qu’au fond, ce n’est qu’un au revoir.

Ce poème a été transmise à Age Esteem par un ami qui l’a trouvé sur l’internet. L’auteur est inconnu.

Bonnie Fatio

Your Life’s Book

Age Esteem

(This poem’s theme)

Begins at any age.

It’s how to be

Yourself and see

Your Life’s Book page by page

Chapter one

(Already done!)

The Volume grows with Time.

Chapter Three

Begins with glee

Esteemic, like this rhyme.

Chapter Five

You’re still alive

And confident, at last!

Chapter Twelve

It dips and delves

With lessons from the Past.

Chapter Twenty

There’s a-plenty

Pages still in Reams.

The end remains in formament

Rewarded and Esteemed.

Written by Alexandra Taylor † for AgeEsteem®

What Do You Really Want Out Of Life?

What do you really want out of life?

This is an important question to ask yourself as you age. What you want the rest of your life to be like, and how do you achieve this, is a common theme within Age Esteem presentations and workshops.

It is especially pertinent to ask yourself this question when you reach the stage in life when your career (working either outside of the home or dedicating your time to family) begins to wind down. You now have time to ask yourself, “What do I want the rest of my life to look like? What do I really want?”

In her Daily Spiritual Practice for July 20?^th 2015 Rev. Donna Loflin from the Unity of the Hills in Branson, Missouri shared the following message. Her message is pertinent for your Age Esteem.

“What do I really, really, really want?” ~Elizabeth Glibert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

“Its been said that we are transitioning out of the Information Age and there are many different ideas about which age we are now entering. Whichever age we are entering, we can see that systems are changing and paradigms are shifting. We are moving beyond mere knowledge and embracing higher levels of consciousness.

The world needs you: your talents, your gifts, your creative ideas and your rebel ways to lift us higher and lead us further. Something inside of you is inviting you to dream bigger and shine brighter. But how do you answer your heart’s calling when you work, manage your household, perhaps raise a family or caretake others? How do you make time to be creative when your never ending to-do list never ends?

Take it to the cushion. It could be your meditation cushion or your couch cushion. Wherever it is, sit yourself down, close your eyes and ask your heart, “What do I really, really, really want?”

In 2008 Elizabeth Gilbert, author of “Eat, Pray, Love,” was on “Oprah” and she shared a lot of wisdom she gained while traveling through Italy, India and Indonesia to write her New York Times best-seller. But the one idea that caught fire with people was her invitation to ask ourselves, as we go into meditation, “What do I really, really, really want?”

Gilbert said it is extremely important to ask “really” three times and to emphasize the word the third time you say or think it. Doing so invites your heart to answer it honestly.

You may not hear the answer right away. Be patient. And you may not “hear” an answer at all. You might see what looks like a sign OR you may feel a strong intuitive hunch. However your Higher Power answers, listen! You are being guided.

It may take a week or more to hear/see/feel an answer. Don’t give up. Keep asking…and keep listening. Inner guidance leads to your passion.

Living a life of “who you are meant to be” will not only change you…it will change the world.”

The Feast Of Life

 Think of Life as one long Feast,

From the “oven” of your birth

To your souffléd rise (like yeast!)

(A fine recipe for Mirth.)

Don’t ever think your “goose Is cooked”

(There’s many “fish to fry”!)

So plan a life-long Menu Book,

With Relish in supply.

Every day can be “baked” or “steamed”

(Depending on your Age Esteem!)

This “aspic” may seem a little trite

But wishes you a Good Appetite!

 Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®

An Experience In Age Esteem

Age Esteem abounded last night at an annual event in Grand-Saconnex, one of municipalities of Geneva, Switzerland when they awarded the “Mérite saconnésien”. It is a ceremony to award local citizens for the outstanding contribution they have made to the local community or to the world.

My dear friend Heli Bathija received this award for her work to save babies in Afghanistan. Heli is a medical doctor who retired from her career at the World Health Organization several years ago. Retirement gave her the opportunity to redirect her energies and experience to new areas of interest. One of these interests led her to found Hope For The Babies (HOBI).

The idea is simple, yet life changing and life saving. The mortality rate of newborn babies in Afghanistan is extremely high. This is for two reasons: 1) Mothers usually give birth at home in disastrous hygienic conditions. 2) Hypothermia. The babies die from the cold.

Dr. Bathija’s prevention was simple. Offer warm sweaters for the babies of mothers who come to the local health centers to give birth. It results in the mother giving birth in more sanitary conditions and the baby is kept warm.

Since Dr. Heli Bathija had lived and worked in Afghanistan, she had good contacts to make this happen. But where would all those sweaters come from? – From knitters, of course! So she set out to find women and men who knit, beginning with the knitting club in her own community. Today she has knitters in many parts of the world, including France, Canada, U.K., Finland…as well as many people contributing wool and money to help it happen.

Heli Bathija is a living example of age esteem, proving it is never too late to launch a new idea or to make a lasting difference. Through her age esteem she is enhancing the course of lives, not only of mothers and babies, but also of people who knit with a purpose – to give a fair chance to a newborn.

At this same ceremony, the knitting group of Grand-Saconnex also received the “Mérite saconnésien” for their outstanding contribution through the knitting of countless sweaters, blankets and bonnets for the newborns in Afghanistan. Without these dedicated women using their creative talents, Hope For The Babies may not have taken off in such a dynamic way, stimulating interest from other like groups.

Here, too, Age Esteem was evident since the knitters were elders in the community. Their leader, in light green in the above photograph, is 92 years old. She, and the other women in this group, are beautiful models of age esteem. It showed through their energy, relationships to others in the community and their commitment to making a difference.

Bonnie Fatio

It’s Tennis Time!

It’s Tennis Time

For one and all.

(I hope this rhyme

Is “on the ball”!)

Deuce or love or match or set,

Challenges are “on the Net;”

Played with lobs or stunning serves,

Be a winner, live with verve!

Some games are lost,

And others won.

This “ball” is tossed

For champions!

Courts are clay,

Or sometimes green,

But Your next play

Is Age Esteem.

Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®

Waiting In Line

Waiting in line,

Trying to rhyme,

Time’s going by,

Life’s on the fly!

Each minute counts

Anxiety mounts!

STOP!

Simmer down!

Unwrinkle those frowns,

Luck’s on your side¨

Pluck at your pride!

Treasure the day,

Measure each way

To stifle that sigh

And smile at the sky;

It’s time to have fun

“Here comes the sun!”

(Thank you Beatles)

Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®

Private Transformation

Public transportation:

A wonderful invention!

Private transformation

A marvelous prevention

For all the woe of aging. –

So try to strive for changing

The one you might have seemed

Were you not Age Esteemed!

Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®

Proud To Be A Woman

We should make everyday an International Women’s Day. – A day to celebrate and honor all women of the world.

I am proud to be a woman.

As a woman I have given birth to a daughter as well as to ideas, products, businesses, and AgeEsteem… I am capable to teach, lead, advise, guide, counsel, support, encourage, mentor, and sit at the decision-making table.

I am able to laugh, sing, play and dance, even though my heart may be breaking or my body in pain.

I am able to feel within me the pain and suffering of my sisters around the globe who face atrocities that no living creature should have to endure, and lift them in my thoughts and prayers.

I am able to rejoice as I watch generations of women stand up and speak out for what they know to be right and just, despite the personal risk it may involve.

Oh, yes, I am proud to be a woman and to celebrate my sisters of all ages each day of the year!

 Bonnie Fatio

On Your Way

Waiting at the station

For the next train to come,

Is an occupation

Which some would find quite glum.

But like all in Life, attending

For the next and brand new day,

You can be “on track” and mending

While you’re on your Merry Way!

Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®