Who are these two people?  What were their life journeys like?  Where did they come from?  How did their lives evolve?

No matter who they were, our lives are somehow interrelated.  Their lives, like ours, represent lessons learned, events experienced, roads traveled and relationships built. – All of this was part of their own age esteem; it is part of the legacy of life’s lessons that they passed on to others.

In AgeEsteem: Growing A Positive Attitude Toward Aging I share a chapter “My Legacy of Wisdom” which suggests how you might leave your own Legacy of Life’s Lessons.  Why not begin doing this now?  Then when future generations look at your picture, they will know the answers to the questions we asked about the couple pictured above.

• What are some of the lessons that you have learned through experience?  For examples see “Put More Energy Into Your Age Esteem“.
• Keep a diary of these lessons as they come to mind.
• Rewrite these lessons to share with others.  You may wish to make a book of these lessons, design them into a collage, or put them into the form of a will.

Being able to use the past with its experience of living is a gift I have to share. -  Bonnie Fatio

]]> http://www.ageesteem.com/2011/05/07/age-esteem-sharing-your-legacy-of-lifes-lessons/feed/ 0 http://www.ageesteem.com/2011/03/25/your-time-to-bloom/ http://www.ageesteem.com/2011/03/25/your-time-to-bloom/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:01:13 +0000 Bonnie http://almania.tchmachines.com/~gwfrvzlm/?p=2186

This is your time to bloom with Age Esteem!

Flowers are bursting forth with the first hint of warmth and sunshine as Spring becomes reality.

• Plan an activity with others.  Include older people and younger ones.  Make it intergenerational.
• Make a commitment to volunteer, join a new group or participate in a new activity.
• Encourage friendships with positive people, people who make you feel good.  Avoid those who bring a negative energy with them.
• Do something courageous.  Push yourself beyond your comfort zones.
• Give thanks for all the blessings of your life, large and small.

Age Esteem is a frame of mind, a way of life.  This is your time to bloom with an Age Esteem positive attitude!

Bonnie Fatio

Who are your Valentines?  Who do you love?  Who is important to you?

Valentine’s Day offers a unique occasion to take stock of who matters to you. -  And what a joyous opportunity to express your feelings.

Whether you purchase cards or create your own personalized messages specific to each of your Valentines, they are certain to be appreciated.

• Make a list of the people who matter to you and perhaps some who you may know less well but who need a lift.  Include people of all ages.  Many are lonely.
• Select your Valentine cards or simply cut out a heart in colored paper and write a message on it, or make a collage like the one above.
• Add your own special message expressing why the person is special to you.
• If you don’t have enough time to prepare Valentines, why not phone each person and let them hear the message directly from you.

It may surprise you to discover what a boost it can be to your own age esteem and positive attitude as you do this to make others feel good.

Bonnie Fatio

Each day of this new year will bring new opportunities and experiences to be experienced and savored.

Do you look forward to each day?

One of my favorite AgeEsteem mentors and friends was Doris Blunt.  Doris was a woman of amazing inner faith and strength.  She always seemed to be bubbling over with happiness and interest.  Yet she had buried two husbands, both of whom she had accompanied through Alzheimer’s in their last years.

When I asked Doris how she remained so enthusiastic and happy she offered me the following secrets to her happiness.

• When you wake up in the morning you have choices.  You can listen to the birds and give thanks for the day as a new blessing and get up to greet the day or you can lie in bed and feel bitter about your aches and pains.  She chose the first.
• Remind yourself that whether you have a good day or a bad day depends on you and the attitude that you bring to it.  She brought a positive attitude which began when she first awoke.
• Decide what your purpose for the day is.  Doris was the sunshine of the home where she lived, so she always put on her sunniest smile when she left her room.  She said that although her smile was not always genuine when she put it on, it definitely became real by the time she met another person.  In fact her smile became infectious.  Others returned it!

These are simple yet powerful pointers for each of us to enhance our age esteem and positive attitudes to live happier lives.  Let’s look forward to each day!

Bonnie Fatio

My heart overflows with love and gratitude.  Life is truly a blessing.  I am ever thankful for the loved ones in my life: a loving husband, daughter, son-in-law, two precious granddaughters, sisters and spouses, cousins, and numerous friends whom I treasure.  There is no time for wallowing in complaints or disappointments.  We are too busy living, loving and learning with a positive attitude.

Oh yes, lesser experiences and relationships are put in our paths, but that is also part of living, loving and learning.  Hurdles are put there to teach us vital lessons and to show us new dimensions of life.  They push us to become a better person.

People with Age Esteem know the value of living, loving and learning with a positive attitude.  Thank you for sharing your Age Esteem in the way you live, love and learn.

Bonnie Fatio

Rejoice!
Let your voice
Be the clue
To the you
Of your Choice.

Written by Alexandra Taylor after the chapter “Rejoice” in the book
AgeEsteem: Growing A Positive Attitude Toward Aging
by Bonnie Lou Fatio

People with age esteem have a positive attitude.  Studies show that people who enjoy life with a positive attitude live longer and happier lives.  This is not to say that they don’t have aches and pains like anyone else.  They simple choose to take a different view of life.  Rather than focus on their pains, they chose to concentrate on what goes well and to develop their interests.  They are engaged in living.

Age Esteemers know that when we focus on the brighter side of life, we draw other positive people and opportunities to us.

• Become aware of your thoughts and words.  Are they positive or negative.?
• Turn negatives into positives.  When you catch yourself complaining or discouraging yourself, change your phrase to make it positive and encouraging.
• Surround yourself with positive people.  Drop those who hold you back or put you down.  They don’t deserve your time.

Bonnie Fatio

The relationships we have with older people, the language we hear others use to describe older people, and the images that we see illustrating older people will impact our whole life and even contribute to our longevity.

Age esteemers have a positive attitude toward aging.  They embrace it with age esteem.  Age esteemers value, admire and respect age and tend to live longer, happier lives.

Bonnie Fatio

They say it takes more muscles to frown than to smile.  I believe that it also takes more energy to have a negative attitude than to have a positive one.  It’s easier to enjoy the moment than to waste energy worrying about what might happen tomorrow.

If you have trouble finding the positives, try this simple exercise.

Surround yourself with nature.  Take a walk in a park, in the countryside, or even your own back yard.  Sit quietly and discover the life around you.  Watch the leaves swaying in the breeze and the insects in the grass.  Listen to the birds.  Smell the flowers.  Breathe in the fresh air.

When the Creator designed our world, it was with a tremendous imagination and purpose.  Watching an inch worm persistently climb a stalk is a wonderful lesson in positive attitude.  Listening to the happy trill of a singing bird reminds us to sing with our own joy.  Going barefoot in the grass helps us touch down with our inner child and that wonderful time in life when we had no responsibilities, helping us to put life into perspective.

It’s easier to wear a positive attitude when we remember the little miracles of this world: the song of the lark, the journey of the inch worm and the feel of grass between our toes. – And to realize that we too are each one of God’s wonders.

Bonnie Fatio

Rise and shine!  What a great expression that is.

Don’t just get up in the morning, rise and shine.  Make it a great day for those around you.  This includes the new people you meet in the course of your day as well as those you know.  A simple smile to someone walking towards you or a friendly greeting to the bus driver or sales clerk.  It is easy to shine, to share your own happiness and talents.

I’ve always loved the stories of Winnie the Pooh and to hear him exclaim as he got up in the morning,  “Ho hum, I wonder what great thing will happen to me today.”  When we arise with that positive attitude in the morning, it is easy to rise and shine.  We are ready and eager to discover the day and the adventures it will bring – and to greet it with open arms of enthusiasm.

Bonnie Fatio