Christy Rutherford, 61, Sequim, Washington

I think Age Esteem is feeling good about yourself at any age no matter what age you are.

I’m not really concerned about growing older.  I just want to continue to grow and getting old is just part of the process.  It’s not something that I am concerned about.  I’m loving every part of my life and this is just a new part of my life. – Something to look forward to.

Christy’s Tips:  I do what I love and I love what I do.  It’s really true.  Every day I get up with the idea about asking what would you have me do today and what is it I’m supposed to be doing today?  That would be either to help my family, myself, or someone else.  I just go with my impressions.  Sometimes I don’t, but when I do I feel better about myself.  If I don’t, I give myself good excuses like I deserve to take a break and do just what I feel like today.

Keep a positive attitude.  Don’t worry about how you look and what other people think about what you are or who you are.  Be grateful for every single day and for every person you come into contact with and even for the difficulties you have. Even the difficulties make you a stronger person.

Christy Rutherford teaches youth and children drama skills and theater skills.

Philip Selby, Yorkshire, England and Geneva, Switzerland

I imagine Age Esteem is about trying to help people to accept their age and to accept their values without regarding age as a negative, because many people regard age in a negative light. This is what I call ageism.

One of my personal concerns is to try and keep fit physically and mentally.  I’ve always been interested in physical exercise and sports so I try to continue my physical exercise by running long distances which I enjoy and I try to keep my mind busy mainly through learning new languages.  At the moment I’m learning Chinese.  I’ve been to China a couple of times.  I hope to go back and I’m struggling to learn Mandarin which is a big challenge.  It is far more difficult than other languages I’ve learned, including Russian and Hebrew.

One of my fears is that I will injure myself running and that I will have to curtail my running, so I have to try to adapt my exercise in such a way that I reduce the possibility of damaging my joints.  I think a lot of people who go in for long distance running don’t consider the impact it can have on the back, the hips, the knees.  I try to run within my limits.

Philip’s Tips:  I would say forget about your age, because I believe our chronological age should not affect how we feel about ourselves.  I would say we should do the things we want to do, to do the things that we enjoy and not regard age as a barrier or as an excuse.  I don’t think it’s an excuse to say that I can’t do such and such, I can’t run a half marathon because I’m too old.  If you have a physical disability, if you’re sick, if you have a problem with your knees for example then maybe you can’t run a half marathon but I don’t think age in itself is enough reason not to do what we enjoy doing.

Another piece of advice is to read my book about aging which gives advice on a wide range of topics helping to achieve successful aging.  By that I mean reaching an advanced age and still to be active physically and mentally and to be able to play a part in society and to have good relations with one’s friends and one’s family, to have avoided accidents and to have taken care of one’s finances.  There are many things one can consider from middle age which I would say is about 40ish in order to achieve successful aging.

I don’t really run to compete. I realize that I’m probably too old and not fit enough to do that, but I do enjoy taking part in long-distance runs in particular when there are a lot of runners and a great atmosphere.  Two runs which I enjoy very much are annual runs: The Matterhornlauf which takes place in August running from Zermatt in the Valais in Switzerland with a 1000 meters increase in height to Schwarzsee, and the other is the Great North Run which is a half Marathon in Newcastle in the UK with about 50,000 people taking part.  One of the great things about it is that all the runners are raising money for various charities, and I have had the opportunity not only to enjoy running but to raise money for a worthwhile cause, which presently is Children With Cancer UK.

Philip Selby is the author of Live Better, Live Longer: A Practical Guide to Successful Aging available as an ebook on Amazon.com; also published in French (Bien Savoir Vieillir), in Japanesse and in Chinese.

Celebrate Love!

What an ideal time to celebrate love! – Valentine’s Day.

Love is at the basis of all that is good.  It is the foundation of peace and understanding.  It is the fuel of making this world a better place for each of us.

Love is the force that gives Age Esteem its pizzazz.

We all strive to love and be loved at every age.  The need for love is a continuum through life.  Love may take on different dimensions as we experience different stages of life, but it remains a constant.

As we look towards this day of love, Valentine’s Day, let’s celebrate love. – Love of self, love of family, love of friends, love of those who we do not yet know and yes, even love for our enemies.

• Allow your heart to overflow with thoughts of love.
• Look for indications of love around you.
• Remember the precious moments in your life when you have had so much love in your heart that it bubbled over.

Celebrate love!

Bonnie Fatio

Bonnie Ross-Parker, 67, Atlanta, GA (originally from Hartford, CT)

I love the idea of AgeEsteem. I think of being proud to be where you are whatever your age is and having that kind of self-confidence and that belief in yourself that doesn’t have anything to do with age or with your chronological place in the world.  It’s just how you feel about yourself.

There are concerns about aging.  I guess I would have to say that my greatest concern is that I won’t be able to get everything done that I want to do before I pass.  There is so much more travel and so many more experiences I would like to have.  I’ve been moving into the closing of my 6^th decade, and it makes me realize that time is so short and so valuable and there is so much more to do and so much to experience.  That would be my greatest concern about age.  With my own experience with age I can say that I just love where I am.  I wouldn’t trade youth for experience under any circumstances.

Bonnie’s Tips:  Feeling good about yourself is an inside job.  It has to come from living a fulfilling life, and I am there.  I express gratitude every day.  I feel blessed every day.  I feel fulfilled in the work that I do.  I meditate.  I work out.  I do what I can to feel good about myself.  It has nothing to do with my age.  It has to do with just wanting to have the most energy and the most out of every single moment of every single day.  So for me it’s not at all about age or aging.  It’s more about enriching my life day to day and making it the best it can be at any given time.

As far as advice is concerned, I would just say to live each moment.  I know that sounds trite.  Everybody says live each day as it comes, but it is really getting the most out of the life you have, getting the most out of the experiences, making the most out of relationships, touching people’s lives, making a difference in somebody else’s life.  I think you look within to be fulfilled and not look for happiness from the outside with the new car, the new house, the new whatever.   Instead, just know that you are contributing and making a difference in the world.  If you don’t feel that you are, then find a way to do that through volunteering, through a warm shoulder, through a compassionate ear, whatever you can do.  It is the relationships that are fostered along the way that is most important.

It is interesting that the word journey has the word our in it.  I think the journey is really a collective energy.

Bonnie Ross-Parker is a professional speaker and author and creator if the national organization, The Joy of Connecting.

Patricia Lake, 65, PA, USA

When I hear the term Age Esteem I think,  ”I just age”.  It is just a word.  I don’t feel myself as old. I may be 65, but a lot of days I feel like I’m 40.   I feel that I have the esteem to go with my age.  Then there are the days that I feel like 90!  It depends how your body feels.  But since I started at exercising at Silver Sneakers I feel a lot better.   I quit smoking, too, so that helps.

Patricia’s Tips:  I just take one day at a time.  I have to for the situation that I live with. I have to take one day at a time because I don’t know what the next day will bring.  I try to live for that day and be happy.   I don’t like to dwell on things that are bad.  I’d rather think of positive things.

Just be happy.  Life’s too short.  I try to practice that.  It doesn’t always work, but I try!

Going to the movies is good for your age esteem.

• Films entertain, inform, educate.
• Going to the movies is a social event that brings us into contact with others.
• Movies stimulate our imagination and creativity.
• Laughter, tears, and other emotions are freed.
• Watching foreign films stimulates our language skills.

Anne-Louise Sterry, 60, Oregon, USA

The first thing that pops into my head when I hear “Age Esteem” is, oh my gosh, instead of thinking that old people are useless we’re going to look at people who are older with a sense of esteem.

What concerns do I have about growing older?  Actually concerns about aging just popped up for me when I turned 60.  One is a sense of anxiety that I don’t really have so much of my life left, and if I haven’t done what I wanted to do when I am I going to do it?  I better get to work!

A second concern is that I’ll never be able to retire.  I ought to be able to, except for the fact that I love what I do so I wouldn’t want to stop.  – But then when is the time that you can relax?  My father used to say, “You can relax when you’re dead.”  So that is a concern.  And of course there is the sagging of the body bits.  I’m not so happy about that.

Anne-Louise’s Tips:  I wake up in the morning and I try, especially if I am at home, to spend some time writing.  One of the things that I write at the top of my page is the type of day I want to create.  I often write that I am creating a day of joy and focus, or I’m creating a day of joy and love, or I’m creating a day of patience.   That actually carries me through my day.

Laughter is a really good thing.  Laughter makes you feel good.

Exercise.  You’ve got to get outside and walk.  You have to do something to get in the fresh air, something to move your body.  My husband and I ride bikes. I try to walk, especially since I turned 60.  I’m a new 60 and I’m struggling with that a bit.  It just seems old though I don’t feel old.  It is just the number.  I would like to change the number to have more years left.  I work on staying present and not future tripping or past tripping.  Both are useless.

When my parents were 60 they were old.  They weren’t out; they weren’t walking; they weren’t running; they weren’t doing things with their bodies.  So I guess I still see that as what 60 is supposed to be like.

When my Grandma was 60, she was a little old lady.  I think it is just an idea; it is just a concept that we need to change.  We need to change the concept of what 60 means.  Then I have a husband who is 65.  How did he ever become 65?

I’m a young old person so I don’t have very many tips yet.

 Anne-Louise Sterry, aka aunt Lena, speaker, author, performing artist www.Anne-Louise.com 

P.S. This interview wouldn’t be complete without a photo of Anne-Louise as aunt Lena, who is full of age esteem!

It’s a New Year

And a New You,

Let us all cheer

For our New View

Of this Life and its Age Esteem

Fulfilling every newest dream.

Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®

Two Thousand and Twelve,

Imagine!  It’s here!

The start of another

Wonderful year.

Make resolutions and

Make them to last;

Live in the Present,

Inspired by the Past.

Growing old is not as bad as it seems;

Model each day by the book Age Esteem!

Written by Alexandra Taylor for AgeEsteem®

Big Bird

Big Bird is a gift for all ages, and a symbol of age esteem.  When our four year old granddaughter and I met him at Busch Gardens, Florida, we were both equally thrilled.  - And we both wanted our photo with her!*

When I met her I said, “Oh, Big Bird, you have been my idol forever!”, later to discover that she was created in 1969.  She represents the  generation between our granddaughter and me.  So this is truly an intergenerational photo.

Big Bird is definitely a friend of AgeEsteem® and a gift for all ages.

• Big Bird makes you laugh, without even speaking.
• All generations love him.
• His goal is to help people learn, especially children.
• He is a role model as a good friend to the other Muppets.
• He reminds us of the importance of play and having fun, at every age.