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.

David Muenker, 57, USA

Age Esteem is feeling good about yourself.  Being happy in your now with esteem at any age.  One of the things you would initially think of is age being older.  But I think it is regardless of the age you are.  Whether you are a teenager or 20 years old you still need to feel good about what you are doing, what you are contributing to the world, how you’re showing up.  Maybe it’s more critical for a lot of people of our age who have been sort of following a path that wasn’t what they wanted.  They weren’t following their dreams, just following what their education and expectations had led them to.  And now they are at a point of reexamining themselves and wanting to know how to place themselves in their reality, their now.

David’s tips: Smile at yourself.  It’s not as serious as you think.  Have fun.  That’s why we’re here.   Give as many hugs and kisses as you can.

David Muenker is an independent professional photographer.