No More for Now

No More for Now

I won’t be posting on this blog anymore (for now) as I am now posting on sheknows.com and Thriveglobal.com. Please follow me on these sites. And of course follow me on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson and my bloghttp://doctorlynnanderson.blogspot.com/

 Keep proactively aging!

Doctor Lynn

The Potential for Happiness

 

 

 

 The Potential for Happiness

Contentment brings with it supreme happiness. We all want to be satisfied. But contentment and satisfaction is not the same thing.  Satisfaction never last. That is why The Rolling Stones wrote, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Many people say, “I will be happy when I get this and I get that, but happiness is never found out there in this and that. To find contentment and happiness you must go to the center of your being. You just need to realize it’s potential.

Consciousness gives rise to all that exist. So if you want to be happy it needs to begin in your consciousness and not outward in the material world. That is why center should be everywhere and circumference nowhere.  Living from your center has the potential to bring you eternal happiness.

Let’s sit quiet for a moment and begin to peel away any layers of discontentment.  Close your eyes and breathe deep. Try to get to the center of your being.  It is a quiet still place where noting exist accept potential. Quiet and still, take three deep breathes releasing yourself from any anguish, fear or desires.

Let’s work on finding our center.

 

The potential for contentment and happiness exist within you. That is why you should always come from your center projecting it outward rather than drawing from the material world inward in an attempt to find happiness. Stop looking outward to the this and the that in an attempt to find happiness and draw from your center the potential and you will discover eternal happiness.

Namaste

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

The Sacred Vessel - Building Healthy Relationships -Proactive Aging

The sacred vessel is the container of everything and everything is in relationship to everything else. Although relationships are important, throughout life, as we age we all realize that not all relationships in life will be sacred. Some will bring us grief, misery and pain. However many will bring us friendship, love and joy  

To build this sacred vessel, we must first be clear about our intentions. Openness is required. We must open ourselves to everyone and to all opportunities, for growth is inherent in all of life. Truth is fundamental – first within ourselves and then extended to others. We must also be committed to nurturing and maintaining the sacred vessel of relationships. Without the walls that form the sacred vessel openness, trust, and commitment we cannot sustain its strength.

Once we have created the sacred vessel, we can use it as the foundation for developing relationships within and without that are healthy and harmonious. Then we can implement certain principles that will act as guides along the path of sacred love.

Build the vessel with openness, trust and commitment.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

 

In The Blink of an Eye – Proactive Aging

 

 

This week a friend of mine who I haven’t seen in several years appeared in my Spin Class. He had moved away and not taken my class for nearly eight years. He moved back to town and reappeared like it was yesterday. Suddenly in what seemed like a blink of the eye we reunited after eight years. Where did the time go? Had we changed? Well, yes we both looked a bit older and we both were a bit wiser.

The blink of an eye is an idiom.  An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. So although in reality it had been eight years since I had seen my friend figuratively it still seemed like the blink of an eye.

Life is like an idiom.  If taken literally it means existence. The literal meaning of death is the end of existence. It’s plain and simple, or is it?  Is life simply existence that flashes by and ends with death? Or is it like an idiom; not to be taken literally? It means something so much more than it’s literal definition.

The blink of an eye lasts only a tenth of a second. That  is all that is needed to clear away dust particles and spread lubricating fluid across the eyeball. Every time you blink your eyelids send a cascade of oils and mucous across the surface of your eye to keep your orbs from drying out. Blinking also keeps the eyes safe from debris and damaging bright lights.

Why don’t we notice the momentary darkness that is caused by the blinking of our eyes? Scientist tells us that the human brain has an uncanny ability for ignoring momentary blackness. Blinking suppresses activity in several area of the brain responsible for detecting environment changes so we experience the world as continuous. No beginning and no end. So life really is an idiom. It is true the last eight years just flew by. Don’t squander time. Every moment counts because before you know it; it will all be over in blink of an eye.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

I Just Turned Eighteen – Proactive Aging

 

 

 

As I was leaving the gym after teaching my Spin class I heard one young woman behind me say to her friend, “I just turned eighteen so I’m just getting used to being eighteen.” I turned around to see two very lovely young women. They looked so young and so naïve. I thought to myself, “I’m trying to get used to the fact that I am almost old enough to get on Medicare and collect my SSI!

I can tell you a blink ago I was eighteen. At eighteen you are consider an adult and now responsible for your actions. But eighteen is very young. What do you know of the world at eighteen? Most young people are still under the care of their parents unless you were like me and on your own at eighteen.

I knew nothing of the world and so set out to learn in the school of hard knocks. Unsheltered and naïve I stumbled and made many mistakes. But somehow back then it all seemed right. Everyone was a bit more mature, a lot less privileged and searching to be free. After all we were the hippie generation with free love and peace.  Ahh… to live in the ideals of youth!

I  wanted to stop and ask the young lady what she was adjusting to?  But I didn’t. Was it the number eighteen, her new found adultness or the fact that she is so young and beautiful and her whole adult life is ahead of her? I’m adjusting also to my number, my senior-ness and looking at my life as more behind me than in front of me.

But would I be eighteen again? No, the angst of maturing through life is something I don’t want to repeat. I’m rather comfortable in my own skin and rather wise to the world. I’m not questioning. I’m appreciating where I have been, where I am at and where I hope to go.

I’m just getting used to the number that comes with being a senior citizen.

Doctor Lynn

 http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

How many times have I made the bed? Proactive Aging

 

 

 

 

This morning as I was making the bed I wondered how many times in my life I had made my bed. I make my bed every day because my mother taught me as a young child both how to make a bed and the importance of daily organization. A well-made bed is a good start to the day and a welcoming comfort at bed time.

I believe I started making my bed at about the age of ten. There are 365 days in a year so my best estimate is that I have made my bed 19,710 times. Does that mean I have been organized 19,710 days? Not exactly, but I can tell you I am an organized and rather tidy person so I guess my mother was right.

What concerns me the most is how fast the time goes from one bed making to the other? I make my bed and before I know it I am making it again. The first thing I do each day is wake up in my bed and the last thing I do at night is go to sleep in my bed. It is my refuge from the world. I have always felt safe and secure snuggled into my bed. I am one of the lucky ones. I have always had a warm safe place to sleep. Many people don’t.

I do need to subtract from 19,710 the number of nights I have slept in a hotel. In a hotel you never make the bed. I also have to subtract the week I spent in the hospital unable to get out of bed. I also need to subtract the times someone else made the bed for me. But I can make up for this loss by counting the number of times I made my children’s beds or made the bed for someone else.

All I can tell you is that I have made the bed a lot times in my life. I am lucky to have a bed and to have the ability to make it each day. Most of all I am lucky to be able to get up out of bed, to have my feet hit the floor, and get up and move.

 Next time you make your bed think about how many times you have laid down in a bed and slept in peace. Think about how important a bed is to your life. It is a place or refuge, a place of rest, a place of love, a place of sleep and a place of dreams.

In the end we will all count our time on earth by the days we lived and nights we’ve slept. Be grateful each time you make your bed because it is the start of another day and if you make your bed with care it will welcome you back over and over again. It is the place where dreams are made and where life gets renewed for another new day. How many times have you made your bed? If you are lucky it’s been many times and counting.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

I feel my age this week – Proactive Aging

 

 

 

 

 

My arthritis is kicking up this week. It is making me a little tired. I feel my age this week although I hate to admit it. Admitting it will not accomplish anything but slow me down and I don’t want to slow down. What I would like is about 20 percent more energy than I feel these days and no more aches and pains. That’s not a lot to ask; is it?

Proactive aging means to be positive about aging while at the same time doing whatever you can to slow the process and improve the quality of your life. Arthritis will slow you down if you let it. It can also motivate you to keep moving and seek out alternatives to drugs and toxic medicines. Moving the body while using the breath creates a flow of movement that is supportive and kind. This is what is needed to ease the burden of arthritis.

Kindness is important when it comes to aging. Frustration and anger only makes the whole process worse. Nobody ever said it was great growing old. Aging creates limitations, but those limitations don’t need to define us or prevent us from doing the things we love. We just need to be kind to ourselves and make small adjustment and modifications.

Modification means being flexible and willing to adjust to each situation without becoming weak and unforgiving. Life changes from decade to decade. Some of the changes create a deeper and greater strength and some take it away. What is taken away is always replaced with something more dearly needed. As my physical stamina gives way to my sense of wisdom I realize that feeling my age is not such a bad thing. The body may struggle and finally succumb to aging, but the wisdom gained through a life lived has taught me to pace myself because my age is just a number and the numbers run out at some point. Pacing gives me time to enjoy the little things in life that I missed when I was younger and didn’t feel my age.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

Get up move – check out Doctor Lynn’s Anti- Aging Workouts

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The Handbag Dilemma Time for a Purge– Proactive Aging

 

 

 

Recently I have begun to feel some soreness and pain in my shoulders. This is partly due to the onset of arthritis, as well as over working my body and carrying heavy handbags. Suddenly those large handbags filled to the brim with all sorts  stuff, such as my sunglasses, my wallet, my phone, my bottle of water, my sweater, my keys, my comb and my lipstick are starting to affect how I feel. Not to mention that some of my handbags are heavy in and of themselves. Time for a purge.

I have started to consider the weight of my handbags. Ten to fifteen pounds would be about right. This weight is dead weight I carry of my shoulder or dangling from my arm. In the last year I have gotten tennis elbow and a damages rotator cuff most likely from exercising too much, but also exaggerated by the weight of my handbags.

The first thing I did was feel the weight of my handbags without any content. If heavy they are being tossed away. My new bags are the light weight tote handbags. I am getting them in size large not so I can put more in, but so that what I put in gets distributed throughout the bag.

What do I need?  I need my driver’s license, a credit card and a little cash. I also need my keys and my cell phone. My sunglasses are a must, but I can wear them. A comb and lipstick will get me through any situation. Now my bag is light and I am free from the burden of carrying all that weight.

I try to carry my handbag straps nestled into my bent elbow to avoid the pull of the bag from stretching and hurting my tendons. Sometimes I slip it up onto my shoulder, but always make sure I slip it from shoulder to shoulder to even out the strain.

When I was younger I didn’t concern myself with tendons, shoulders, joints and pain. But now that I am getting older I realize that purging a few things is good for the body, the mind and the soul. How much do I really need? I am purging myself of the heavy things in life, like excess weight and unneeded items. Aging has taught me that too heavy a load creates drooping shoulders and an aching body, mind and soul.  Take some time to purge and lighten the load because some things in life are just too heavy to carry. They will just weigh you down and cause you pain. Only carry what you need. That’s a proactive approach to aging. Lighten up because it is good for your body, your mind and your soul. Dilemma settled!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

A Giant Difference – Proactive Aging

 

 

 

Last week I read a story about Donald Henderson a U. S. Doctor who led the successful campaign to wipe out small pox worldwide. He was 87 when he died. He was hailed as a “giant” in the field of public health. He advised three Presidents. I wondered how many people read his obituary and how many people knew who he was?

Small pox was a highly contagious virus. It is the only infectious disease to have ever been eradicated. Smallpox has been recorded in the human population for over 3,000 years. A man who lived to 87 eradicated a virus that managed to live for 3000 years! Amazing! This man definitely proactively aged.

Proactive aging is a dedication towards something bigger than you. It transcends your aches and pains, your sadness and your pleasure. The eradication of anything that has the potential to create harm takes time, patience and dedication. All of those attributes can only come with time. With time come age and the question, “what are you doing with your time?” Most of us will never be the “giant” Dr. Henderson was, but we all have the potential to create a better world.

Violence has existed since the beginning of time. If you live to be 87 and beyond (and I hope you do) remember in 87 years you too can eradicate something that has lived for millions of years. Simply do your part to help your fellow humans and to protect the environment. Work to eradicate violence through benevolence and compassion and although you may never be called a “giant” together we can all make a giant difference!  

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

Two Faces in the Mirror - Proactive Aging

 

Which face is the one I see in the mirror? One mirror has lighting that makes me look younger, fresher and with hardly a trace of wrinkles. The other mirror shows every line, crease and flaw.  Depending upon the mirror we all proudly show our face to the world or hide it beneath the shadows of dim light. Our mood is greatly set by the person we see in the mirror. As I look to one mirror and see my aging self and then to the next and see a more youthful version of me I wonder which one of these faces am I?

Have you ever looked in the mirror and wondered exactly what you look like? As a mirror reflecting back at you, I can tell you that all those flaws you see and wrinkles you try to hide are not visible to me. Yes it is true that good lighting can hide a multitude of sins. But it is also true that natural lighting reveals the truth and the truth is we are never what we think we look like. We are recognized by our outward appearance and quite often judged by how we look. But the real person behind the reflection reveals your true identity.

We cannot hide anger, deceit, greed and pride. The best lightening and pounds of make-up will not hide character.  We may choose to only look into the mirror that reflects back the best of our physical attributes, but it will quickly fade as soon as we walk into natural light.  The real reflection of you is not found in the mirror. It is found in your character. So reflect to the world a sense of caring, a sense of joy, compassion for all and a deep understanding of the true essence of life.  You are neither of the two faces you see in the mirror.   When you understand this you will no longer be concerned with the wrinkles and flaws. Instead you will look to your character and know from your soul that the best reflection of all is the one that respects and honors all of life for its beauty and not its flaws.  This is proactive again. Appreciate yourself and honor your soul.

 

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

Slow Down –Proactive Aging

 

 

 

When the moment of slow down comes you will know it. It will most likely come with some aches and pains and a bit of exhaustion.  Slowdown is the voice that says “time to slow down and take a rest or at least pace you.” This is not an easy thing for me to do. Arthritic pain, a pinched nerve and a damaged rotator cuff has brought me to that moment of slow down and reassess. What can I cut out of my day to help me heal? What should I do to help me heal? This is not about slowing down, but about healing. However, healing is going to require that I slow down.

So I did an assessment of my daily activities and divided them into the must dos, I would like to dos and the fun dos that I can put aside. I am going to physical therapy which I believe is one of the best tools for bringing the body back to balance. Further I always eat healthy and exercise and I get plenty of sleep. But when I am awake it is tough for me to slow down.

I need to spend less time at the computer and more time restfully moving. Like going and having my nails done, reading a magazine and just putting my feet up with a cup of tea. I need to teach my classes but I can modify my movements so as to minimize my physical activity. I need to write and work on my projects. But I think I will limit this computer time to only a few short hours a day.

Right now I have time to kick back and rebalance. Right now I have time to refocus. Right now I have time to take care of me. Right now I am just going to slow down and enjoy some quiet moments. This is a must do!  This reminds me of a Neil Young song; Slow Poke. The faster I ran; the further behind.  It is time to slow down.

Doctor Lynn

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My Hands – Proactive Aging – they are the markers of my life

 

Gazing down at my hands my age is revealed. No longer do my hands look young. Although long they are thin and prone to wrinkles, ridges and age spots. I can hide my sagging body from the world, but not my face and my hands. The hands are a dead giveaway as to a person’s age.

I look with an inquisitive nature. How did my hands get this old? I don’t feel this old and yet my hands tell me something different. I have a slight bit of arthritis in my hands. I know this will only get worse with time.  I wonder if someday I will not be able to use my hands. I hope not because they have served me well. I cook, clean, create, hold, hug and reach out with these hands. I have prayed with these hands. They are the markers of my life. So I have decided to accept the wrinkles, sags and aging spots, to be kind to them every day and appreciate the many things they can do.  

The palms of my hands reveal the lines of my life. My life line indicates good health. My heart line reveals that I am satisfied with my love life and my head line indicates that I am practical, intelligent and look at many possibilities before taking action.

My index finger represents my ego and my thumb is my higher power. Every day I take a moment to bend my index finger and place my thumb on top reminding myself to bow my ego to something bigger than my earthly self.  

Every day I exercise my hands.  Not to remove the aging, but to take care of them because in life a limber outstretched helping hand is all that is needed to  live a full life, keep the heart loving  and  to stay open to all the possibilities of life.  Love your hands. That’s proactive aging.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

Fashionably Nerdy- Proactive Aging

 

 

Normally I would not wear such an outlandish combination of ankle socks and sneakers, but I am about to participate in a game that requires comfortable feet. When I was younger I would never have worn these ankle socks with my shoes and if I did they would be very plain and nondescript. However, most of the time I would end up with sore aching feet and blisters. I paid a high price for being fashionable.

One of the great things about maturing is realizing that common sense and comfort always outweigh fashion.  Fashion may look good, but if you are uncomfortable it is guaranteed you will not have a good time. Remember a time when you forwent comfort for fashion and your feet were sore and aching? Did you really have a good time?

There is a man named Victor who I see every week when I go to play lawn bowling. He has a style for the outrageous. His colorful ankle socks rise above his brightly colored sneakers. His clothes are bright, always matching the color of his socks. But he is always comfortable in his shoes with his socks popping with colors in patterns and stripes. I always feel lifted and happy when I see Victor because he is having so much fun with color and does not give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks.

 I think I am starting to like being fashionably nerdy. My feet don’t get blisters any more. When I look down at my ankles and see them covered with bright colors I smile at what a long way I have come. It’s not the nerdy part that I like, but the part about not giving a rat’s ass what anybody thinks! I am comfortable in my own skin and my nerdy socks.

Being comfortable is the most stylish version of yourself you can portray to the world, because comfort never goes out of style. Stay fashionably nerdy and enjoy your stylish comfort. That’s proactive aging!

Doctor Lynn   

 

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I Feel Wasteful – Proactive Aging

 

I feel a sense of waste. I am not a wasteful person. I don’t waste money, food or the environment, but I have lately begun to see myself as wasteful. Perhaps it is because I have travelled the world and seen so many have so little and so few have so much. The wealth of the world is definably disproportionate.

I am very comfortable. Some would say I am more than comfortable. I enjoy my comfort and the ability to afford some of the luxuries of life. However, I have been on the other side of life struggling just to pay the rent. I definitely prefer being comfortable, but not because of the things I can buy, but because of the stress that is removed. I no longer carry the stress of paying the bills with nothing left over for emergencies. Now my energy goes into what I choose to do with my time and my money. What I choose to do is teach others the merits of health.

Most of my friends are comfortable. Or should I say all of my friends in comparison to the world are comfortable. Some have more and some have less, but we all live a comfortable life and have more than we need.  We’ve worked hard and are now reaping the fruits of our labor. Retirement brings with it a sense of security. But I’ve begun to think about what happens when you have more than you need. It is breeding ground for waste. If water is abundant showers are long, lawns are green and swimming pools are full. Prosperity is good. But waste is foolish. “Waste not want not”, was my mother’s motto.

If I buy a pair of shoes (that I don’t need) am I putting people to work and supporting the economy, or am I foolishly wasting my money. Would it be better to just give the money away? In India I learned that to give something for nothing takes away a person purpose and dignity. Everyone should contribute to the betterment of life. I saw healthy people begging. I saw a woman with no arms selling her painting that she did with her feet. Who should I support?

I pay very high taxes without a grudge. I live well and have no problem sharing my wealth with those less fortunate. My tax dollars I hope go to feed, clothe and provide healthcare for the poor. I just hope my efforts are not being wasted by wasteful spending on things we don’t need at the expense of what we do need. With age comes certain pensiveness for things such as waste. They say so much is wasted when young. I would agree. It’s nice to finally have the time and the money to stop wasting time on the things I can’t change, focus on the things I can change, and to finally know the difference.

Doctor Lynn

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Girls Love to Dance – Proactive Aging

 

 

 

When asked by three women in their seventies what I teach I replied, “Spin, yoga and dance.”  Their faces lit up with delight! “Dance”, they proclaimed, “what fun!” I explained that the dance class was designed to work the entire body in a gentle and fun way. Anyone can do it and the ones who do it really love it because it is fun. Immediately they were intrigued and asked where they could find my DVD.  http://www.doctorlynn.com of course!

I created Doctor Lynn’s Anti-Aging Yoga Dance as part of my recovery from cancer surgery, but mostly as a dance yoga program that would give the participant the most bang for the buck. It includes yoga moves for balance, strength and flexibility, as well as low impact easy aerobic dance and a short meditation at the end; combining all five components of the perfect workout.

Flexibility, balance and strength are all components for keeping us fit as we slide into the later years of life. Lose one you will surely lose all. Keep practicing and you will retain your balance, range of motions and stability. We also need to add the aerobic component to keep the heart strong, the brain humming and weight under control. The meditation is like the icing on the cake. It is sweet and smooth rounding off the texture of this recipe for good health and fitness.

Girls love to dance. No matter what age; girls love to dance. Something about music turns quiet mice into roaring lions. So girls - get up and dance because the best way to stay young in body, mind and soul is to kick up your heel, throwback your head and move your body.   When it comes to aging, be proactive. Balance, flex, strengthen, dance and relax.

Doctor Lynn

http://ww.doctorlynn.com

Helping an Elderly Woman – Proactive Aging

 

 

Today I was taking my morning walk when I came upon a taxi van waiting for an elderly woman. As I approached I saw her struggle twice to get into the van and each time almost fall. The step up was too much for her. She needed something to lean on. So I approached her and asked if she would like some help. She smiled and said, “Yes please.”

I told her to lean on my shoulder and I would help her lift herself into the van. We did it together, I closed the door and away she went. I did my good deed for the day, even though I never intended to do a good deed.  I was just walking when the opportunity presented itself.

Actually as I approached the van I thought about my own mother who is struggling with arthritis and unable to walk far without assistance. Recently my family met in New York where I rented a wheel chair for her. She was very grateful as this made it an easy trip through the maze of NYC.

I also thought about myself and wondered if I would someday be struggling to get into a van? Would someone stop to help me? Then I proceeded along with my walk ever so grateful for the ability to take long walks. My mother used to love to walk. I spent many afternoons taking a walk with my mother chit chatting about nothing and yet what we talked about was everything.

What does proactive aging have to do with helping an elderly woman into a van? It reminds me to be appreciative of where I am and what I still can do. It is so easy to complain about your aches and pains. It takes a little proactive energy to focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t do.

When you help someone you get the benefit of doing a good deed. It makes everyone feel good to do a “random act of kindness.”  Helping others reminds us to give. Everyone benefits from a good deed. So if you want to feel younger, help an elderly person get into a van and then appreciate that you still have the ability to get into the van by yourself. Know that your good deed will not go unrewarded. When that day comes that you need little help (and it will), a walker will walk by and lend you a hand. It’s good karma!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

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Proactive Aging – The Familiar

 

 

 

 

What I love about traveling is that just when the familiar starts to get boring you change the scenery and get a fresh look on life. Something about traveling keeps you young at heart. I think it is the sense of adventure that feeds my soul. It is like being a child again and learning something new. Every time I travel I am always amazed at what I learn. Most times I return with such a different point of view.

Most recently I went to Nashville and Memphis. What I found was a slower and a friendlier pace. I had just come from New York where the congestion and noise slightly over whelmed me even though I live in LA. It’s different in New York. Life is moving at a fast pace.

 The people were so friendly in Tennessee. The whole state was so clean, upbeat and vibrant with life. The history was deep. Did you know that at one time Tennessee was the western border line for the U.S.? The heart and soul of American music was born in Tennessee and is still alive today.

But what I love the most about traveling is missing the familiarity of home. It always feels good to get back to the comfort of my own bed, my own tattered slippers and my comfy robe. Back on the couch watching the familiar TV shows appreciating the comfort of home. Traveling makes me feel the youthful tug of adventure and coming home gives me the warmth of the familiar.  That’s why I like to travel. It reminds me to stay open and inquisitive while grounded and secure because no matter where I wander I always know there is no place like home. Want to stay young? Travel because around the corner there is always something new to learn.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

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Proactive Aging – it’s in the soul

 

 

Recently I took a trip to Nashville and Memphis. This part of the country is the heart and the soul of the American music scene. The blues, rock and roll and country music all sprung out of the south. I did the tourist things visiting all the great music museums, as well as Sun Studios where the first blues song was recorded and rock roll was born.

One of the great blues singers was Muddy Waters. As soon as I heard his name I flashed back to my younger days when my ex-husband and I and a group of friends spent hours listening to Muddy Water and the Blues. I suddenly felt very young, hip and in the groove.

I looked around the room and noticed that most of the people on this tour were over the age of fifty. Everyone was nodding and swinging to the small excerpts of music our guide was playing as he told us the history of southern music. We were all flashing back in time.

After this we went to BB Kings bar in downtown Memphis. Memphis Jones was playing that night. He took us on a ride through time playing songs from all the great legends of Memphis blues and rock and roll. Again I looked around. The bar and the dance floor were full of people just like me, fifty and older.

On the dance floor I watched a couple do the jitter bug. They were really good. You could tell they had been doing this for a long time together. The whole place was alive with youthful energy, Good music does something to your soul that electrifies the mind and makes the body get up and dance.

For a short time we all forgot about our arthritis, our aging bodies and tired souls and began to dance, sing and applaud.   Music has a way of making time stand still and agelessness a reality. It’s in the soul!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

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Gum on My Shoe - Proactive Aging

 

 

 

I left the gym today and stepped into hot melted gum that had been spit out and left stuck to the parking, lot.  How rude, I thought, that someone would spit out their gum. The pavement was hot so the gum stuck all gooey mixed with bits of dirt to the tread of my shoe, immediately I thought of Singapore where it is a crime to chew and spit gum in pubic. It should be a crime here in the US, I thought to myself.

Imagine if it was against the law to chew and spit in public. The chewers of the world would proclaim their right to chew. I would proclaim my right to not have the ground polluted with their gooey mess and to keep my shoes from sticking to the carpet of my car.

 Now I had to go home and dig the gum off my shoe. This is an imposition.  But what does this have to do with proactive ageing?

The older I get the more I am aware of how our behaviors and habits can negatively impact others. I think about respect and kindness. I don’t consider the pavement to be my right, but the right of everyone to be able to walk without having your foot stuck to the cement by someone else’s chewed and spat out gum.  Not 3 feet from the place where I contracted the gum was a trash can. Couldn’t the gum chewer at least spat the gum in the trash?

I take the attitude that every little bit that we all do to make the world a little cleaner and l a little better for everyone is a good thing. But some people take the attitude that, well the worlds a mess; I might just as well contribute to it. That seems immature to me.

This is not the first time I have had gum on my shoe and probably won’t be the last. Proactive aging means tolerance, acceptance and respect.  It also means I would like to take this gum chewer and stick hot gooey gum to the soles of his or her shoes and smile as they clean up a gooey unsanitary mess left by someone else.

Proactive aging also means speaking up when something is harmful, disrespectful and downright rude. So to all you gum chewers; it’s damn rude to chew and spit. You’re polluting the environment and you are disrespecting others. If you must chew think and chew at the same time. Swallow your gum and clog your own internal system or simply find a trash can and If you need to spit- spit in the can!

Thank You!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

Do I Really Want to Work this Hard? – Proactive Anti-Aging

 

Looming in the background is first retirement and then second that time when I am no longer able to work. Years ago I set a goal for myself and have yet to achieve it. There are many reasons why I didn’t achieve this goal. Some are circumstances and some are my own foolish notions. My goal is still not unachievable. It’s just that I’m not sure I want to work that hard. It is easy to get lazy when you don’t need to survive, but rather can ride on the crest of the good life.

Like many people my age I am beginning to deal with aging parents. I am also trying to help my children with the grandchildren. My husband is retired and pulling me in that direction. But I still have that goal looming over my head. I want to achieve it, but I am not sure I want to work that hard.

Pacing is the magic word. If I pace myself I will achieve my goal. To pace means to take the steps forward with a comfortable stride. It also means to walk back and forth in a state of anxiety.  Stepping in a comfortable stride is exactly what I must do. Pacing with anxiety is not for me; I am too old for that. That would be a foolish notion.

 Life’s fulfillment comes from setting and achieving goals. Satisfaction is wonderful, however it has been said that satisfaction is an illusion. As soon as we begin to feel satisfied we suddenly want more. This is human nature. It is good to desire, but not to obsess. I will keep my goals and work towards them with this in mind; if Mick Jagger can’t find satisfaction, neither can I. It would be a foolish notion to seek satisfaction when being happy with what I have achieved while pacing me to achieve the rest of my goals without the overwhelming need to work so hard should be fulfillment enough.

I am working towards my goal. I am striding not anxiously pacing.  I am not working so hard that I forget to stop and enjoy the moments.   Working too hard is a foolish notion. Enjoying the moments is being happy. That’s Proactive Anti-Aging!

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlyn.com

http://www.facebook.com/DrLynnAnderson

Happy To Have Gained Ten Years – Proactive Aging

 

 

 

 

In my fifties I imagined myself to be thirty-five. I felt thirty-five and somehow lost track of the years that I gained over those last couple of decades. I still did pretty much what I did at thirty-five accept that I was a little wiser or a little more cautious. I could predict things and see things that I would have missed if I was really thirty-five.

Now in my sixties I imagine myself to be forty-five. I really feel forty-five accept for the occasional aches and pains that remind me that I am not forty-five. But I do feel ten years older and am beginning to like being forty-five as opposed to thirty-five.

At forty-five you have a t lot more experience and you start to begin to let go of the angst of youth and embrace the stability of maturity. At forty-five you still look pretty damn good. In fact there are days when you even get mistaken for much younger. I really like forty-five and am so glad I have matured past thirty-five; at least in my mind’s eye.

Twenty years can seem like a long time, but really it goes by in a blink. Suddenly you are a forty-five year old trapped in a sixty year old body. The body and the psyche just don’t fit. So I’ve decide to only look at myself in a darkly-lit room, and fully clothed. I’ll take a brief look at this forty-five year old woman reminding myself that it’s not the body that determines your age. It’s the state of mind and in my mind I have gladly gained ten years and am happy to be forty-five.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctorlynn.com

Selling My Mini Skirts - Proactive Anti-Aging

 

 

 

 

 

This week I decided to sell my miniskirts on e- bay. They have been sitting in my closet for quite a while. I reckon I will never wear them again. Now is that admitting my age or is that being proactive by letting go of something I no longer need? Some might say this is giving in to my age and others would say I am being sensible. A sixty plus woman in a mini skirt is not a pretty sight although you have to admire a middle age women who has the guts to still wear shorts and miniskirts.

But really now that I think about it, miniskirts never were very comfortable. If you bent over your butt was exposed. When you sit it rides up. When you get up you need to make sure it is pulled down. You can’t run, climb or lounge in a mini skirt. Legs need to be shaved and in perfect shape to pull off a miniskirt. That’s a lot of pressure and not a lot of fun.

It’s not that I’m giving them up because I feel old. It’s that I would rather be comfortable and enjoy my time not pulling, adjusting and worrying. I’d rather admire the young girls wearing miniskirts reminding myself that this time in life is fleeting. Enjoy it while you can, but when it is time to let go sell it on e-bay.

Doctor Lynn

http://www.doctotlynn.com

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