Breathe! Breathe in
and breathe out. Take deep breaths in through your nose and breath out through
your mouth. Breathe deeply and consciously.
Are you finding it
difficult to breathe wearing a mask? These masks are important to wear during
the Covid-19 pandemic when we are around other people during our rare trips to
the food store or pharmacy. Personally, it discourages me from making
unnecessary trips out of the house. I just cannot breathe well while wearing
the mask.
However, this makes it
all the more important to breathe, and to breathe deeply when we can. Here in Switzerland
there are only rare cars on the road and the air is surely cleaner. I hope the
same is true for you. Open the window and breathe deeply. Again, take deep
breaths in through your nose and then breath out through your mouth. Do it
consciously. Feel the cool air entering and the warmer air leaving your lungs.
An energizing
breathing exercise is to breathe in to the count of 5; hold that breath for the
count of 5; breathe out to the count of 5; then hold the breath for the count
of 5. Continue to do this several times. I find that it revitalizes me to do
this during the day and surprisingly becomes calming when I use it at night to
go to sleep.
Breathing consciously
will help both your physical health and enhance your age-esteem.
Do you find yourself complaining that time is racing, life is whizzing by? Stop! Why waste that precious time with complaints?
Often our complaints serve as a convenient scapegoat to another
problem: lack of confidence and lack of age-esteem.
Here’s good news. You can begin to reinforce your confidence and
age-esteem immediately.
Focus on your qualities. You have many.
Pretend
to be another person writing a recommendation for you. List your talents,
skills and qualities. Be generous. Deep down inside you know you are talented. Keep
the list where you can read it often and add to it regularly.
Keep a
journal of praise. Write down the praise you receive. No matter how minor it
may seem, when someone praises you write their words in your journal. Copy
praise received electronically or via the post into your journal. Refer to it
as your confidence booster.
Flash
yourself a smile as you look in the mirror. Praise yourself on one of your
qualities as though saying it to your best friend: “You organize great events!”
You
will soon find that you accentuate
the positive naturally while also increasing your age-esteem, and time
becomes meaningful and fulfilling.
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.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the women of the world. Whether you have children of your own or not, you are important as a role model, teacher, friend and mentor to every child you come into contact with. It is from you that they learn what love, caring, strength, intelligent decisions, values, ethics, and what oh so much of life is all about.
Seeing how you manage your life at each stage of life is also helping children grow their age-esteem.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, ask yourself these questions: “What are you thankful for about being the age you are?” What are the blessings that come with being 43, 58, 62, or 97?
To answer these questions, reflect on the ages you’ve been and what has changed as you have grown into who you are today. The young are often energized and dream about things to come while the more mature are blessed with insight. They understand that relationships are what sustain us, not the accolades we have collected along the way.
When you are in your 40’s you are full of self-determination and aim for respect and accomplishment. You’ve had the opportunity to learn how to connect with others and have begun to feel a sense of gratitude for wisdom gained from previous life experiences.
In your 50’s the satisfaction of accomplishment and the value of connecting with others sets in. The demands of your 30’s and 40’s are diminishing, allowing you to diversify your interests. You are gaining back time to do things you have put aside for years.
When 60 rolls around, you are entering an entirely new, exciting point in life. You possess the ability to see yourself clearly and take action on things that you feel need more attention. The park has more meaning as you appreciate the moment, and the morning air becomes the kind of potion that you have not known since childhood.
At 97, you are a marvel! The quality of reflection you have on life is so different from the young that your words must certainly be listened to. You become society’s living history. You have seen triumphs and tragedies, revolutions and wars, and great achievements in technology. Gratitude shines in the freedom from the urgencies of earlier days and you have truly learned to cherish each moment.
The truth is that no matter what age you are, life is about doing every age well. So find thankfulness in your Age-esteem!
Bonnie Fatio personifies age esteem. Bonnie guides and challenges us to face our worst enemy. She helps us think differently about ourselves in order to set our inner self free to shine, share our talents and act on our dreams at every age.
Listen in as Pat Iyer and Bonnie Fatio chat about these points:
What does age esteem mean?
What are the stereotypes that exist about older adults?
How we can overcome all this stereotyping
How to transform your thoughts and your language to embrace age esteem
Who is your worst enemy?
Why we need to have people around us who stimulate us and who challenge us
Relationships you have as a child are going to influence how positively and healthily you age
In our home we celebrate Christmas. No matter what you may or may not celebrate in your own heart and home, let me wish you a Merry Christmas as a way to say,
May the peace and the promise of this day be with you throughout your whole life.
Ageing is a part of life. We may have different expectations about ageing, but for some, having no control over this natural course triggers anxiety and denial. Not so for Bonnie Lou Fatio (pictured here), an internationally recognized motivational speaker and author and founder of AgeEsteem. Her vision is a world where age and ageing are celebrated and people of all ages are respected as contributing members of society.
This is a comment that I hear often. “I don’t want to be called Grandma. It makes me feel old.”
Why is this? Based on my years of work with AgeEsteem with people in multiple countries, I am convinced that it is because our own image of what a grandparent represents has not evolved. We still hold a picture in our minds of our own grandparents as they were two generations ago.
We need to up date our own thinking!
When our first granddaughter was expected, people asked me, “What do you want her to call you?” My answer was that I was unsure. – Perhaps Grandma Bonnie, perhaps just Grandma. I thought that it would be clear to me once she was born. However, when Jessica entered the world I was still uncertain, though I referred to myself as Grandma.
Jessica took the situation into her own hands when she began to speak. She was probably trying to copy her parents and call me Bonnie, but it came out as “Baline”. She is now four and the name has been confirmed by her younger sister, Viviane. Baline I am and Baline I will remain.
I lovingly say that Baline is a cross between a “baleine” which is the French word for whale and a “ballerine”, French for ballerina! It fits me well.
No matter what name or title is used, I am proud to be a grandmother! I delight in my special relationship as grandmother to these two little girls. Being Grandma is precious to me!
Hi, I am Bonnie Fatio. Join me in spreading the AgeEsteem phenomenon that is making waves across the United States, in Western Europe and in many other areas of the world.
AgeEsteem is energizing, relatively easy and doesn't even need to cost anything. It is an easy process that requires little more than the desire to enjoy your life – at any age.
How can you become AgeEsteem-ed and an AgeEsteemer? Begin with any or all of the following.
· Participate! Visit the site, and blog!
· Read the AgeEsteem book
· Attend an AgeEsteem workshop
· Invite Bonnie to speak to your group
· Listen to the AgeEsteem CD
...and be sure to visit AgeEsteem.com every day.
Together we can modernize society's image of age and aging!
