An Intergenerational Vacation

Why is it that so many older people book cruises for their vacations?

When my husband and I took a cruise in the Caribbean I found many answers to this question.

Despite the fact that cruises are not free, they can be relatively inexpensive if you book last minute deals, or very early. Since almost everything is included in the price, you can get by without investing in extras.

And there are bonus advantages:

• You stay in the same room and only need to unpack and repack once. – Your temporary home carries you to your multiple destinations.
• The food includes all dietary wishes.
• Multiple activities are available to play, learn and exercise.
• Ease of contact with people of all ages.

If you choose to, you can interact with little ones and teenagers as well as those closer to your own age or older than you.

I believe this last point is especially important to feel confident and competent as you age. A key to age esteem is to be in contact with people of other generations and cultures. It is an excellent way to gain a new perspective and understand what is important to younger and older people, as well as have an opportunity to share your own views.

Why is this important for your age esteem? When we interact with people of other ages, rather than isolate ourselves with adults of our own era, we become comfortable being with and dialoging with other generations. Take teenagers for instance. If we do not have regular contact with teenagers, we can easily be more critical of them simply because we do not understand how they see the world. When we take time to converse with them and listen to their interests and ideas, we begin to appreciate who they really are. We no longer categorize them as having the same traits simply because they are teenagers. Instead we get to know them as individuals. – And they see us as unique individuals as well.

My dad used to open conversation with young people easily. He was genuinely curious and interested to know what they thought. Sometimes the youth would be leery of him in the beginning, but they soon found themselves in conversation. They could tell that his interest was sincere. It may not be as simple as that for people who are more timid. However, vacation is a great time to be with, and get acquainted with others of all ages.

Bonnie Fatio

Working Across Generations

One answer to working together across generations is Shared Intergenerational Leadership.

Why is this effective?

By working with others of diverse generations through sharing responsibilities, for instance leading a project, meeting or training, we learn how others function and think.

Rather than watch the other person perform in a way that annoys us, we are forced to open our mind. We have the natural opportunity to ask why they suggest something or prefer to work in a way that may seem foreign to us.

A personal incident that comes to mind took place when I was running an Intergenerational Dialogue at a Conference in Colombia with a young woman in her twenties from Trinidad Tobago. As we were discussing how notes would be recorded at each able she said, “They can also Tweet!”

My initial reaction was, “How rude!” Imagine people tweeting while you are sharing your idea. I am not proud to say that I missed this opportunity to sit on my mouth and to say nothing. However I did immediately ask further questions. I do, after all, tweet.

As a result, when we shared the leadership of this Intergenerational Dialogue I found myself encouraging participants to also tweet using the hash tag of the conference.

I learned something, the other person’s idea was valued, and it added to the richness of the dialogue process. Rather than trying to pigeonhole the other person into the characteristics of her generation, we each actively listened to the ideas of the other and acted together, sharing leadership intergenerationally. Each of us benefited in the process.

These experiences further enhance my own leadership style and confidence, and therefore my age esteem.

Bonnie Fatio

Therapeutic Plants For Aging Skin

What could be better than using natural resources to care for your skin as you age?

Here are a few therapeutic plants you can use to care for aging skin.

• Avocado oil contains vitamins A and D in great quantities and is known for beneficial action to regenerate the skin.
• Pomegranate is rich in sodium, potassium and tannin, a natural antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals.  It stimulates skin growth.
• Olive oil has a high level of vitamin E which flights against dryness.
• Calendula-marigold is good for regenerating and healing irritated or inflamed skin.
• Lavender has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungus properties.  Its perfume has a relaxing effect.
• The rind of the lemon contains antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties.

Enjoy the aromas and textures as well as the healing qualities of these therapeutic plants.

 Grandma Nature

Generational Differences Are Unavoidable

Generational differences have always existed. Just look back and ask yourself questions about how your views and way of operating were different from your parents and grandparents. If you had conflicts with either generation, what were these disagreements based on? – And not just when you were a teen-ager. Also look at your own adult years.

Differences among generations are unavoidable. We are born and raised in very different times.

I continue to admire the generation of my grandparents who witnessed the first car, the first human walking on the moon and the first computer. They also experienced two world wars and the Great Depression.

My own generation was born during the Second World War, watched the first televisions in our homes, and later, computers. We were also influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, the war in Viet Nam, JFK, Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi. Milk and eggs were delivered directly to our door, which was rarely locked. Games were invented with what we found to play with. We knew all the neighbors by name and they would scold us if we did something bad. Meals were eaten sitting around the family table together with lively discussions. We had chores and found it normal to participate, even if we did complain.

Those of you who are younger may find this a bit odd, but times were different. It is no wonder that our perceptions vary, sometimes greatly.

So how to work and live together becomes the question. It is a question that people with Age Esteem are eager to answer. They know that an important key to Age Esteem is to have contact with people of diverse generations.

No matter what your age, ask yourself the following question. “Who do you have in your life who are from older and younger generations?”

If you find it difficult to name these people, I suggest that you act now to bring people of other generations into your life.

Bonnie Fatio

Age Esteem = Regular Interaction with People of All Ages

An important quality of Age Esteem is to have regular interaction with people of all ages. – To relate to the full span of ages.

This used to be a natural aspect of living. Three, even four generations within a family often lived under the same roof, and still do in many countries today. It provided a natural relationship among different generations with each understanding his or her role within the family.

Of course it was not always easy, but neither is it necessarily easy to live within a mono-generational community. In both cases we need to know how to accept and respect each other.

We also learn from each other. The older ones give us a reference to be able to put the ups and downs of life into perspective as we make our own life decisions. They provide examples as role models.

Younger generations keep us current. What matters to youth today? How do they view the world? What is the meaning of their favorite music and games?

When we esteem ourselves at the age we are, this age esteem comes in part from recognizing the value of our age, in relation to ourselves and in relation to others.

Working and interacting intergenerationally helps us to gain the necessary perspective to recognize our own value at the age we are.

Bonnie Fatio

Bananas For Healthy Aging

Did you know that there are over 1,000 different varieties of bananas worldwide?  It seems that there are about as many health benefits as well!

Bananas are a powerhouse of vitamins when completely yellow.  As brown spots begin to appear they have more sugar and become sweeter.

Vitamins C and B6 are part of its components as well as the minerals potassium and magnesium.  Potassium is good for the function of the nervous and muscular systems and regulates arterial pressure. B6 is important for the regulation of the nervous and immune systems. Bananas help to regulate the gastro-intestinal system in order to aid digestion.

Why not have a banana for your daytime snack? It is both filling and nutritious and benefits healthy aging and therefor age esteem.

 Grandma Nature

Forgetful Or Not Interested? & Your Powerful Mind

Comments on September Messages in Age EsteemNewsletter

Do you identify with either of these comments? They are two of the responses I received to the Age With Pizzazz Newsletter.

“Just wanted to tell you I have really enjoyed your last two e-letters.  This last one was particularly interesting to me.  Since I am frequently in other countries, live on two sides of the ocean and work with 7 different currencies I know that things are so far so good.  BUT I have also (even at my tender young age ;-) walked up and down the house stairs twice trying to remember what I was going up (or down) for!  I was told by someone that if I know I had to get something that the brain is ok just the file cabinet inside the head (or storage in internal smart phone) is full and needs to have some files deleted.”

“Thank you for your email and your highly interesting comments on forgetfulness!! I myself have a hard time to remember numbers and names. This might be partly due to the fact that as a simultaneous interpreter, I had to learn to forget the numbers and instead write them down, but for forgetting names I have no excuse, this has definitely something to do with age!!!”

What do you think?

Bonnie Fatio

Note: If you do not receive Age With Pizzazz each month, visit AgeEsteem.com and sign up for the free e-book and Newsletter.

Does Your “Selfie” Show Age Esteem?

The following excerpt from “What Selfie Sticks Really Tell Us About Ourselves” (NY Times, Aug. 8, 2015)
 came across my desk recently from Candice, one of my readers in Ireland. Her comment was, “Age Esteem needs to become more widely spread so we might be proud to show what we really look like and to be happy with the way we look, wrinkles and all.”

Here is the excerpt. “The American
 Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reports a marked increase 
in demand for cosmetic surgery as people become disappointed comparing their
 selfies with the images they see in the mirror.”

It is true that raw close-up photos of any kind tend to emphasize details like wrinkles and age spots. It is also true that wrinkles and age spots are not yet embraced and celebrated by the society we live in.

So what can we do?

• Avoid posting selfies on the internet. People with age esteem know that they are in control and do not have to follow the herd.
• Post selfies that show your wrinkles and personal character and be proud of them. People with age esteem know that they each have a unique beauty. This is in part because of their wisdom and experience reflected on their faces.
• Encourage all the people who you know who have age esteem to post their untouched selfies on the internet with you to let people know that age is beautiful and that age can and should be celebrated.

Remember that you are beautiful with a unique beauty that is yours. Cherish it and celebrate it.

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®

Intergenerational Diversity

 A quality of Age Esteemers is to have regular contact with people of all ages. I would also extend this to include diverse backgrounds and cultures.

We live in a world today where we can no longer simply sit back and live as though there is no evolution and we can live with the status quo. The world constantly evolving: technology is advancing, health care is making tremendous inroads concerning our bodies and minds and how to keep them healthy, education includes topics that were not yet dreamed of when we were children.

It is an exciting time to be alive!

One way to make the most of it and to keep up with worldviews and events is to speak and interact with people of diverse backgrounds and from other cultures.

• Ask questions,
• Share your traditions with them and allow them to share theirs with you,
• Invite them to see photos of your life and perhaps the lives of your ancestors and take the time to view their own photos and
• Share the stories that highlight each of your lives.

As you get to know each other better and to understand both your differences and similarities, you will grow in appreciation and tolerance of those differences and find new complementarities among your similarities. Instead of criticizing each other, you will be able to value the other person for the qualities she has.

Bonnie Fatio