I have continued to read and contemplate the concept of the ‘second half of life.’  I frequently go back to Richard Rohr’s book Falling Upward, Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life,  as well as Chip Conley’s book, Wisdom @ Work; The Making of a Modern Elder. The second half is a bit of a misnomer since I’m soon to be 78!  Better late than never, right?  The theme, in a nutshell, is that we spend the first half of our lives accumulating, striving, climbing, and expanding. T

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Western medicine trains us to believe that aging is the same thing as progressive bad health. That isn’t necessarily true. Gerontologists have studied the pathology of aging intensely, but they know very little about the wellness  of aging. In other words, Western medicine examines diseases that occur as we get older and calls the compilation of those diseases “aging.” Apparently, there are other fac

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Last week, an article appeared in the New York Times by Susan Jacoby entitled “We’re Getting Old, but We’re Not Doing Anything About It”. Of course, I was intrigued and read with curiosity. It both resonated with me and irritated me at the same time. The parts that resonated were multiple statistics about the aging population, such as the number of Americans over 65 will double in the next ten years.

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis One of my favorite websites to recommend is Changing Aging by Dr. Bill Thomas. I was drawn to an article entitled “Seventy is the New Outspoken” by Carrie Knowles. The title was enough to grab me. Being 70 is a privilege and a gift. It is time to embrace the gift and make use of our years of experience and, yes, even our mistakes, to do something bigger and better. It is a special time to live large

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis I read about a woman who had recently been widowed, and her discovery of how much strength came to her. So many tasks that her husband had handled fell to her, and she miraculously had the power to do them.  She said, “I found that I could do a lot of things I’ve never done before; make decisions that I’ve never thought of before. I suppose I had it before, but I never used it.”  Like a teabag, you

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis Food has always been a rock-solid foundation in my family.  I have memories of my mom killing a chicken in the front yard, singeing, and plucking the feathers.  She thin-sliced her homemade noodles and hung them on the back of a kitchen chair to dry until they were ready to cook.  The tradition of home cooking was passed to my siblings and me and then to my three daughters.  No more killing the chic

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis Why is home so sweet?  I’m sure many have not experienced happy homes, but research shows that even children that had a very dysfunctional family life still yearn to go home.  Home is our first experience of being known and discovered.  Those around us and the physical nature of home begins to define us.  Home is like a greenhouse where we sprout and grow strong before we go out into the world. The

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis It is one thing to say, “I love you,” as a matter of fact, it can be stated very casually, but what if someone says, “I need you?”  That expression can be deeply meaningful.  On one side, the person expressing their need shows a particular vulnerability, and on the other hand, it gives someone else a sense of purpose.  The appeal of volunteerism is based on this powerful emotion.  No matter your age

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis Good news!  According to Carolina State University in Raleigh, adults aged 60+ fared better than their under 30 counterparts in making intuitive decisions, such as choosing a competent home repair contractor or a seat-of-the-pants chess or bridge move.  “Seniors have a knowledge base they can fall back on. That information can automatically be accessed without much thinking.  Relying on intuition is

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis Do you read obituaries? I’m obsessed with them. It makes no difference if I know the person or not; I am just intrigued by what is written to capture another’s life. Some obituaries are very expensive, so brevity is a financial must. For example, The New York Times  charges $263 for the first four lines and then $52 per line after that, with about 28 characters per line. That would amount to the fir

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis For those of you who work or play with computers, you know about screensavers. If you are unaware of the terminology, a screen saver is a computer program that fills the screen with images when the computer is not in use. Initially designed to prevent damage to computer monitors , screensavers are now used primarily for security or just entertainment.  I use my screen saver as a little charge of pos

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis So much is written about midlife crisis today. One of the first published mentions of this phenomenon was by psychologist Elliot Jaques who coined the term "midlife crisis" in a 1965 article, referring to a time (approximately 45-55) when adults reckon with their mortality and their sense of a dwindling number of remaining years of productive life.  As I was hitting my stride as a teenager in the 60

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis In my mind, slowing down  is a virtue worth pursuing.  We live in a culture that is addicted to speed.  Are you someone who hates waiting for the microwave oven?  One minute to boil water, and we’re pacing the kitchen floor.  News travels the world in microseconds.  We jet around the world in a few hours.  Sound waves are beamed to outer space and back in a heartbeat.  Even 50 years ago, these thoug

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Living by Connie Mason Michaelis A beautiful, young 80-year-old woman told me she appreciated my articles in the paper and had an idea for a new topic.  That excites me because I am always searching for new inspirations.  She said, “Whatever happened to please?” As I thought about it more, I realized she had a good point. In today's vast media world, so many people tell us what to do, and they seldom say please. When was the last t

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis I was late learning about the expression, “That's a first-world problem!” but I have adopted the terminology.  If you’ve not heard the expression, let me update you. We often use the phrase third world as a description of poor, underdeveloped countries where the people who live there lack adequate food, clean water, and shelter. Those are serious problems! But first-world problems sound more like whi

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis My mother’s handwriting was beautiful.  Even in her 90's, it was perfect.  Every time I see something that she penned (like a recipe), I feel like she’s in the room.  Recently, I was with a new resident filling in paperwork.  As I reviewed the documents, it was like looking at Mom’s handwriting.  I smiled!  It wasn’t just my mom; it was generations of well-trained students.  I was trained too.  Wasn’

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis   One hundred years ago, the average life expectancy was 47 years.  Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.  Eight percent of the households had a telephone. There were only 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads.  The average U.S. wage was 22 cents per hour.  The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.  A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 pe

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis   This holiday season, which includes multiple celebrations, is full of elevated emotions.  We often overlook the possibility that those feelings might be negative for some people.  In contrast to the excitement of family gatherings and children playing with new toys, these are the painful memories of those who are not here this year. The longer we are privileged to grow old, the fewer family and fri

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis Plenty is written these days about caregiving and caregivers.  The topic covers a vast number of situations that include all ages.  For Seniors, it becomes almost a given at some point.  My focus today is not on the one receiving care, but the one providing care.  I have the privilege of meeting couples every day who have been married for 50-plus years.  Their interactions are like a well-oiled machi

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis How can you live in Kansas and not embrace change?  The weather is a significant teacher in our part of the country.  We are always anticipating and preparing for the next season, enjoying the current season or suffering through the extremes of a particular season.  It is like a school designed to teach us life lessons.  But I think fall is like getting an extended recess!  Fall is a spectacular tim