My wish for you at every age is to

• Live each day fully.
• Stretch your body, mind and spirit.
• Embrace new experiences.
• Share your talents with others of all ages.
• Learn something new each day.
• Celebrate frequently.
• Seek the positive in each person and experience.
• Give thanks for the blessings of your life.
• Meet new challenges with a sense of adventure.
• Greet each new day with anticipation and zest.
• Become a living model of AgeEsteem for those who meet you!

One of my favorite card over the holidays is copied below.  – Not the message on the card, but the message of the sender.

Why is it a favorite?  Because the words of June, the friend who wrote it, express how she puts her AgeEsteem to daily use via her

• acceptance of her present health,
• positive attitude,
• gratitude for what she has,
• social contact with others despite not getting out and about,
• interest in the lives of others and what is happening,
• continued purpose and contribution to others.

Precious Ones,

I hope all is well with you and your family and that you will be together for a Happy Festive Christmas…

Things here are ok.  I’m having to use the walker all the time to get around and don’t go out, only to the doctors.  My son and his wife were here the first of Nov. and took me shopping for necessities but that’s it.  I’m just happy I’m here where there are people and I have a nice warm room and plenty to eat, and at 93 that is a lot – Especially when I think of how many older people aren’t warm or have enough to eat.

I finally finished the 60 Hats of Love, (for Cancer patients) and 80 ski caps (for the needy) – my fingers don’t do quite as good as they did – and gave them all away – know they will keep some heads warm even if winter is cold…

June is a wonderful example of AgeEsteem for all ages.

Home Alone

Are you alone for the holidays?  It happens more frequently to us as we get older.  Loved ones have died.  Family is far away.

There are two ways to look at being home alone for the holidays.  First is to feel alone and lonely.  If that is your case, then take control.  Tune into your AgeEsteem.  Shake out of your lonliness by inviting others in.

• Attend holiday programs and services.  Many offer a pick-up service.  Or invite a friend who drives to accompany you.
• Invite other singles to your home for some holiday cheer.  Some may feel as lonely as you.
• Organize an event with neighborhood children.  It can be as simple as hot chocolate and a story.  Parents will be pleased to have some free time for their own preparations.
• Volunteer in a soup kitchen or shelter.
• Dress up as Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus and visit neighbors to deliver homemade cookies.

The second way to look at being home alone for the holidays is to see it as being with yourself.  You are in your own company and able to enjoy the time by yourself.  Plan activities that relate to the holidays.

• Watch The Christmas Story.
• Listen to your favorite holiday music.
• Get out your photo albums and renew the joys of past holidays.
• Begin a journal of happy memories of holidays past.
• Make yourself a special meal and savor it.

Being home alone can be peaceful, joyous and loving.   Let your AgeEsteem attitude shine through and enjoy!

It is always lovely to receive a package to unwrap with anticipation of discovery.

The greatest gifts are those that come from the heart and the gift of self.  Are you wondering what to offer someone?  Offer yourself!

• Offer your time to do something with your children or grandchildren that they are dreaming to do with you; take a half day vacation.
• Offer to teach a friend how to use all of the bells and whistles on their mobile phone.
• Offer a box of homemade goodies.
• Offer to help your partner create a winter garden.
• Offer a page of special photos.

By offering your time and talents you also offer yourself several keys to AgeEsteem: purpose, social contact, learning something new, celebrating with people of other generations…

Are You Web-Savvy?

About a decade ago one of the major internet suppliers had an ad showing three grey haired people looking at a computer screen in awe.  The message was that anyone can learn the internet.  It brought a smile to the people who viewed it.  Who would expect older people to use the internet?  After all, it was modern technology!

According to an article on eMarketer last month, data from the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) shows that seniors were more likely than any other age group to conduct e-commerce activities today.  

Children born today are familiar with computers in the same way that their parents were familiar with the television controls.

An important key to AgeEsteem is to keep up with modern technology and to continue to learn something new daily.  The internet offers an opportunity for both of these.

Not yet Web-Savvy?  Why not consider these ideas to strengthen your AgeEsteem and your ability with the web.

1. Investigate classes at the community center or local library.  It can be fun to learn with others.
2. Solicite the help of a grandchild or a neighborhood youth to teach you the ins and outs of the internet.  It will help build their confidence (and AgeEsteem!) to do this with you and will create a new dimension to your relationship.
3. Hire a private tutor or learn the basics on your own using one of the multitude of books available.  Once you have the basics you can use on-line tutorials to learn more.

Abundance Is An Attitude

Each of us has potential that can be freed by looking at the abundance and goodness around us.  When we lighten our lives by seeing the fortune that we have we are not only happier and more confident, we also become a magnet for others.  There is a goodness in abundance which creates more goodness and more abundance.  Look around you.  The abundance is there.

AgeEsteem is acknowledging our abundance.

1.  Interview people around you who are of different generations.

• What are they most thankful for?
• Do they have a habit of giving thanks daily?  How?
• If so, when did they begin this habit?
• How do they benefit from their daily thanksgiving?

2.  Do you see a difference between the attitude of those who give thanks regularly and those who do not?
3.  Now, interview yourself using the same questions.
4.  Taking all your interviews into consideration, do you see a correlation between people giving thanks, and feeling good about themselves at the age they are today?
5.  Share your experience by leaving a comment or mailing Bonnie.Fatio@AgeEsteem.com.

Recognize your blessings, however small.

Dr. Maya Angelou, who was asked by President Bill Clinton to write and recite an original poem for his Inauguration as President of the United States in 1993, had not always been articulate and confident.  As a young girl she felt she was worthless and was dangerously depressed.  Fortunately a teacher took interest in her and insisted that she make of list of everything she had to be thankful for.  When she could find nothing to write, the teacher said, « Then begin with the fact that you are able to hold a pencil. »  Little by little she began her list which has grown with the years.  Today, Dr. Maya Angelou is herself a blessing in the lives of multitudes through her words, lyrics and legendary wisdom.  At age 80 she continues her attitude of gratitude as she inspires audiences throughout the world.

On a recent trip to South Africa to present AgeEsteem at a global conference of Women’s Rights and Development it was once again reinforced for me just how privileged I am to live where I do.   Learning from such a diverse group of women was enriching.  Learning filters both ways.   Often the people who have suffered the most through war, drought, hunger or standing up for what they believe to be just and right are the ones who show the greatest gratitude.  They have managed to live through these experiences and survive.  –  And an important ingredient to this survival has been to see the little blessings along the way that others would have overlooked.

Recognizing our blessings, both great and small, and being thankful are powerful ingredients to reaching our potential at every age.

• Every night before you fall asleep ask yourself this question.  « What am I most thankful for today? »
• Seek the little blessings that you normally overlook.
• Nourish your gratitude and feel truly thankful.

Giving Thanks For Your Abundance

Do a multitude of blessings come into mind when you see this title or do you have to go on a hunting trip to find the abundance in your life?

An attitude of gratitude is a key to AgeEsteem.  And what better time of year to emphasize this than this month when Thanksgiving is celebrated in several countries?    Why not truly give thanks this year?

When our granddaughter was born,  I spent hours holding her in my arms thinking how fortunate she was to simply be born where she was born and in a family who wanted her, with parents, grandparents and extended family who love her.  She was born into an environment of peace and prosperity where as a young girl she can strive to become anything she desires.  Education is taken for granted.  She has a roof over her head, clothes to wear, her own shoes, and healthy food to eat.  Healthcare is readily available, including vacinations from diseases that continue to kill elsewhere in the world.  She can wish on stars in the clear night and watch in awe as the sun sets or rises with its colorful hues.  Probably her greatest pain will be from scraped knees and minor bruises.  She is free from the threat of land mines and snipers.  She lives where she can make her own choices, aspire to become what she wishes and to dream without fear.  Laughter, learning and freedom of speech are hers to enjoy.  And, I add once again that she is surrounded by family who will protect, support and encourage her.

Those of us who have some or all of these same fortunes truly have reason to give thanks for our abundance.

• Write down 10 reasons you have to be thankful.
• Now write 10 more reasons you have to be thankful.
• Write 10 more reasons.

May all your fears of witches and goblins be replaced by thoughts of goodness and joy – and AgeEsteem!

These pumpkins may all look alike to us, but not to a child.  She sees them as unique forms and shapes like people.  To this little girl, visiting a pumpkin patch with her grandparents, it is an outing of discovery and delight.   Picking out a special pumpkin for Halloween can take all afternoon as each one is considered with care.

Halloween, which is celebrated in several countries, offers a perfect opportunity for inter-generational fun.

• Take one or several youngsters to choose pumpkins.
• Organize a pumpkin carving party in the yard or garage with neighbors of all ages to make jack-o-lanterns.
• Give a colored ribbon as a prize for the funniest, prettiest, ugliest…  Make up as many categories as possible so each person wins a ribbon.
• Make pumpkin pie and cookies together.
• Ask each person to put their jack-o-lantern in a front window of their home with a candle in it so others in the neighborhood can admire them.

AgeEsteem includes fun with all ages.