3rd is our Physical Health which has to do with movement, rest, drinking, breathing, and eating the right foods

Physical health seems obvious to us; however, it is also an area of health we tend to overlook, so let’s look at it now.

Beginning with exercise let’s look at the different aspects of physical health. As we’re aging, we don’t necessarily want strenuous aerobic exercise. What we do need is physical activity; we need movement.

• One of the best and simplest activities for your physical health is walking. If you are in a low populated area, you may still find a time when you can take a brisk walk without coming into contact with others. 
• If you’re not able to get out and walk any distance, then why not put on some music and just move to the rhythm or dance? What is important is to move, to be active.
• Are you sitting much of the day? Then you can set a timer to remind yourself to stand up, turn around, and go get something to drink every 20 minutes.
• If you need motivation, search programs on the Web for exercise, dance, yoga, tai chi, and breathing for older people. A favorite of friends of mine is Eldergym which includes exercises to strengthen specific parts of the body and to alleviate pain.

Remember, the goal is to remain active to preserve mobility, strength, and balance. Age-esteemers know that movement is key to aging well.

Bonnie Fatio

Understanding your emotions is another aspect of emotional health. In other words, how are you feeling about the present situation; how are you feeling about your age; how are you feeling about what you are reading here? Understanding your own feelings your own emotions and accepting them for what they are while remaining positive is key to healthy emotions.

• Acknowledge your emotions. It is healthy to express emotion.
• Accept your emotions as the thermometer to how you feel in a particular situation or relationship.
• Strive to remain as positive as possible.

One of the overpowering emotions for many people of all ages during this COVID-19 pandemic is fear. – Fear of the unseen virus and fear of what might happen to you personally or to a loved one. Fear eats away at you until you deal with it directly.

• Sign up for a free copy of “7 Ways to Live Your Life to the Fullest Right Now” on AgeEsteem.com. Chapter 2 teaches you to Tame Your Fears.
• Try putting aside a “worry time” each day. Make this a time when you face your fears and make the rest of the day worry free knowing you will worry at the designated time.
• Journal about your fears. Put your fears down in writing and leave them there.
• Do you have a friend you can speak to about your fears? Sharing your fears can take some of the sting out of them.

I believe we actually are at an advantage as the elders of the world, because we have lived through so much more than the younger generations. We are able to place things into perspective. We have seen enough to know that this too shall pass.

Age esteem is a boost to Emotional Health.

Bonnie Fatio

Compassion for others is another aspect of emotional health as is being able to show your emotions. Especially in these uncertain times, compassion, caring for other people and what is transpiring in the world without becoming negative or fearful, is crucial to your emotional health.  Are you fearful? Use the exercise of transformative language you are testing from the last message. Instead of saying, “I am afraid”, tell yourself, “I am confident all will go well”, “All is fine”, or “Today is full of new opportunities to be creative”. Remember, you do not have to believe what you say; just say it.

Emotional health also ties into your social health and spiritual health in reaching out to others with compassion. No matter how you feel, you still have space for concern for the suffering of others. Ask what you could do to make today easier for someone’s suffering or distress? In other words what is that act of kindness that you wish to show today? Multiple research shows that we are healthier and happier when we are doing something that has a positive influence on the life of another.

Especially during these days of isolation and quarantine there are exceptional opportunities to reach out to others in creative ways. Search for ways to positively touch the lives of others. Some examples were given in the previous blogs under Social Health.

Age-esteemers know that having a purpose that brightens the lives others is key to age-esteem and remaining healthy and vital as you age.

Bonnie Fatio

We are privileged to have modern technology to facilitate our contact, even without leaving our home. Use the tools that are available to you. There are many unique ways to connect with others.

• Test some of the chat rooms associated with sites that interest you.
• Comment on other people’s posts on social media. Ask questions and stimulate conversations.
• Do some research on topics that interest you. You can use your new knowledge to initiate conversations about topics that take your mind away from the present pandemic.

These open new doors to both your social health and intellectual health, stimulating you to think in new ways, while offering you an opportunity to express your ideas and to also challenge the ideas of others. Share your perspective that comes with age, your wisdom. Society needs to hear what you think to counterbalance other perspectives. Be bold with your age-esteem and positively share your thoughts.

Ask yourself what you might be doing for others as well as with others.

• Meet by phone or computer app each day to have a virtual cup of tea or a before dinner drink with someone who is alone.
• Have dinner with your remote family. We dine with our daughter and her family twice a week. Each of us places a computer at the end of our table and using Zoom we soon forget that we are not physically in the same room.
• Many parents are juggling schooling their children at home and caring for little ones while continuing their jobs from home. Why not offer to help children with their studies using a program like Zoom or Skype?
• Set a time to play computer games with a friend or grandchild. AARP has a good selection of games, and a favorite for puzzles is JigZone. I personally meet up with my granddaughters on WhatsApp and we work on the same puzzle seeing who finishes first.
• If you are able, purchase food or walk the dog for another person in your neighborhood who is not able to get out. Ideas are limitless once you begin.
• One of my favorite ideas to stay connected is the Kit de tendresse (Tenderness Kit) pictured above that we received from friends with two little girls. It includes poems, drawings, cutouts, conundrums, and more, all wrapped in colorful paper with lots of scotch tape!

It’s an interesting time to invent new ways to have contact and keep your social health vital.

Bonnie Fatio

To prevent COVID-19 you need to actively develop and maintain your health. In this series dealing with the eight areas of health we will first focus on Social Health, even while being told to avoid direct contact with others. 

It is human nature to seek contact with other people. This does not change due to the COVID-19 alert. We still want to continue to feel that we are part of a community, that we belong, and we are not completely isolated socially.

In the present situation people are being asked globally to remain isolated in their homes, whether or not they are in quarantine. It is an important safety measure to limit the spread of the COVID-19. It is important that we nevertheless keep our social life active. No, you are not able to visit friends in their homes, go to the cinema, attend club functions and group activities. However, there are other ways to remain socially active.

It is up to you to take responsibility to remain socially active, and there are many ways to do this. Let’s look at some of the possibilities.

We are blessed to be living in a time of social media and Internet access which opens possibilities for us not only to communicate with others through text or voice but to also see each other on the screen of our phone or computer.  Who might you call or email in order to check up on them or to just have a conversation? Who have you not spoken with for a long time? Have you been saying to yourself you should call a particular person? Well my friend, this is your opportunity to do it.

• Make a list of people you would like to speak with and mark two names in your agenda each day for the next weeks. Then contact each of them on the designated day. Not only will you make someone else happy, you will feel better, too.
• Prepare some uplifting topics to discuss, such as the blessing of being able to speak with each other. Ask questions and share happy memories or present stories.

Everyone has regular access to the Internet which makes old fashioned mail precious. If you are like me, you still have a stash of special note paper that has been gathering dust in a drawer and postcards you’ve gathered during travels. This is an ideal opportunity to use them.

• Write to friends and family. You can plan a quick walk to the nearest mailbox at a time when there are few people in the street.
• If you need stamps, in many countries you are able to print your own stamps online. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn to do it.
• Why not view your photos and include one that is meaningful?

Interestingly an important part of remaining social is to also avoid negative media.

• When you are communicating with friends and colleagues keep your messages positive and upbeat; avoid complaining and emphasizing what is not good. This is going to make a difference not only for you but also for the others with whom you’re communicating. Let them know if they begin to talk negatively that you want to look at the positives in this present situation.
• Highlight some of the opportunities and possibilities this crisis brings, such as time to speak with friends you care about, people playing music and singing on the balconies in Italy so neighbors will not feel isolated, or lack of traffic and industrial pollution.

Remember, when you focus on your Social Health, you also enhance your age-esteem.

Bonnie Fatio

Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Elder abuse is a problem that often goes undefined. Frankly, I found it frightening to read the signs of abuse shared by the U.S. National Institute on Aging. Why? Because they seem to also fit the stereotype of an older person, the image that has been fed to us over the years.

The list includes traits such as seeming confused; rocking back and forth; looks messy; and has trouble sleeping. All of these seem to fit stereotypes of aging, yet they can also be serious warning signs that something is wrong. Add to this any bruises or burns that cannot be explained, and you know you must act. However, not all abuse is physical. It can also be emotional, financial, or being neglected.

Let’s open our eyes to some of the elders around us who act oddly and who may very well be abused and need help. Try to have a private conversation with the elder to learn what is happening. If there is abuse, then guide them to where they can receive the proper assistance. This may be through an adult protective service, or a social service agency.

Are you being abused? Speak to your doctor, a help line, or a trusted friend to find help. Each of us deserves to live our age with dignity.

Bonnie Fatio

Make Your Heart Sing

“We should do something that will make your heart dance once a day. If you can’t do that because you’re too depressed, then do something that will make somebody else’s heart dance.” – Yoko Ono

A Child’s Hand

“What feeling in all the world is so nice as that of a child’s hand in yours? What tenderness it arouses, what power it conjures. You are instantly the very touchstone of wisdom and strength.” – Marjorie Holmes

Why Are You Waiting?

“If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?” – Stephen Levine

Seeing Deeper

In the sanctuary of our church, there is a beautiful stained glass window above the alter. Lights shine behind it to illuminate the myriad of rich colors. This window has drawn my attention each Sunday for over 20 years, and I feel that we know each other intimately through prayer and meditation.

Recently the lights went out and the colors all but disappeared. An electrician was hired to thoroughly explore the wiring. Apparently he discovered new possibilities, because the result of his attention was a new splendor. The beauty of this stained glass window became striking. Its new luminosity allowed us to discover exquisite details that had previously remained unnoticed. The lovely window now radiates overwhelming beauty, a beauty that has always been there waiting to shine to its full potential.

Doesn’t this apply to us as people, too? Sometimes it takes very little to help us let our inner beauty shine. The same is true when we help those around us to shine more fully. Offer praise and recognition for what someone does well; help others to develop their qualities and talents and to realize their fuller potential.  Seek new light within yourself, share your fuller potential with the world, and ignite the light in others.

Bonnie Fatio