Life after 60: 12 Conversations for Active Living
I hope you will enjoy sharing wisdom and new friendships through 12 Conversations for Active Living.
Seniors can support one another through the natural and predictable stages of later adult life. The conversations stimulate discussions of life review and self esteem that help seniors live better and purposefully in the present. By engaging in peer conversations seniors experience a sense of life integrity and greater satisfaction with their lives.
Life after 60 continues to be a time of transition and growth in aging well. Whenever we adapt to new situations, it is helpful to have the support and understanding of another person.
Senior-to-senior conversations increase social connections and caring interactions. New friendships develop when you share your backgrounds, family, work, travels, and talents.
Story telling connects us to the people in the present as well as people in our past. Find a peer and reminisce about your lives, talk about current events, and plan for a productive future in your community.
12 Conversations
Sharing Wisdom – learning from one another
Proactive – anticipating the normal transitions of adult life
Simple – sharing stories from our lives
Encouraging – believing in one another’s abilities and talents
Caring – offering friendship and support
Fun – reminiscing about the past and enjoing today
Lifelong learning – engaging our past, present, and plans for a productive future
Serving Others Through Encore Living
The landscape of the retirement years is changing. Retirement is no longer simply slipping away from work and responsibilities to pursue leisure and travel or to disengage from meaningful relationships. Contemporary theories of aging focus on productive aging and activity. Current thinking promotes a continuity of meaningful engagement in existing roles and responsibilities or discovery of new involvements. Many seniors and those approaching senior years want to give time and energy to purposeful service beyond themselves. Studies indicate a greater likelihood that seniors will volunteer if they have already engaged in volunteer service opportunities before retirement.
Through the 12 Conversations program seniors become a valuable resource of wisdom and support for one another. They provide encouragement to one another for success in the developmental tasks of the second half of life.
Our lives are shaped by our relationships with others. Senior-to-senior conversations provide an opportunity to be shaped by conversational friendship. Listening to someone share the story of his or her life and telling our story enhances the quality of life of both individuals. We remember with integrity, pride, and humility our life, our loved ones, our blessings, and our continuing journey of becoming who we are.
We also can find our personal “Encore” with our talents to serve others and use our talents once again in our community.
Though Life After 60 is not specifically about marriage, couples can enjoy these conversations. For specific conversations about marriage, visit www.12Conversations.com or look at other resources on this website about 12 Conversations for Couples Experiencing Health Challenges.
We also have a new program 12 Conversations for Caregivers for support for those who are providing physical and emotional care for loved ones with a protracted illness.
Get a conversation guide and enjoy new friendships!
Edward Gray