Friday, May 30, 2014

How sharp is your mind?

 
To do your best at this perceptual exercise, first take a deep breath, exhale slowly. Repeat. Sit back. Relax. I speak from many years of experience suffering test anxiety. Ready? Look at the image below.
 
How many faces do you see in this tree?

How-many-faces-do-you-see-in-this-tree

Are you able to find all 10 faces?

Share this with a friend…or have FUN exercising your brains, together.

Thank you, John Quick for sharing.


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Weekly Planner (Bright Pink) Memo Pad

Dementia Signage for the Home

Behavior Triggers Log (Sky Blue) Memo Note PadBathroom Door Sign-Temporary/Reusable Wall Skins




Checklist for Brushing Teeth Wall DecalDaily Pain Journal (Sky Blue) Memo Notepad





EZ-C Bright Green 3 Ring Binder binders






Monday, May 26, 2014

Aging: Yeah, it Could Happen to You, So Embrace It

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 3.54.39 PM



“No one can avoid aging, but aging productively is something else.”
Katharine Graham


It’s not something many tech-savvy young adults care to think about, nor do they give it a passing nod, it seems.

According to the Pew Research Center, younger adults are growing more and more detached from the longer view of their lives.

According to the Pew “the Millennial generation is forging a distinctive path into adulthood. Now ranging in age from 18 to 33, they are relatively unattached to organized politics and religion, linked by social media, burdened by debt, distrustful of people, in no rush to marry— and optimistic about the future.”

But when it comes to the notion of aging, it’s a non-starter. They’re too embroiled in the me-centric world of the now, it seems. They’ve been described as self-absorbed, but aside from insisting they’ll be economically better off than their forebears, they’re carrying more and more debt as they age.
It’s a troubling scenario, but for generations of other Americans, aging is a concern and many of us go there knowing little of what to expect.

Image courtesy of (photostock) / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
 

Americans are living longer than any of the nation’s preceding generations.

And, according to a report released earlier this year, their life expectancy is increasing every year.

People born in 2009 can expect to live 78.5 years. That’s an increase from just a year earlier – when life expectancy at birth was 78.1 years. Since these latest statistics were collected, life expectancy has increased even more, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, and now stands at 78.7 years.

Much of the continued increase in life expectancy owes to better treatment of cardiovascular disease, a CDC researcher said.

And Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center,told HealthDay.com: “To the extent that we all want a bounty of years in life, this report conveys encouraging news. Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. is rising for all groups.”

In the years covered by the current report, life expectancy increased for both men and women. For males, life expectancy went from 75.6 years for those born in 2008 to 76 years for those born in 2009. For females, it went from 80.6 years to 80.9 years, according to the report from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, part of the CDC.

Life expectancy also rose by race — for whites from 78.5 years in 2008 to 78.8 years in 2009; for blacks, from 74 years to 74.5 years; and for Hispanics, from 81 years to 81.2 years, the researchers found.

“Life expectancy has been increasing pretty steadily for the last 50 years or so,” said Robert Anderson, chief of the Mortality Statistics Branch at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
Life expectancy has been increasing for several reasons, Anderson said. But, he added,

“improvements in heart disease and stroke mortality have had a big impact. That’s a large proportion of total deaths and that’s where the action really is in terms of improved life expectancy. That’s really what’s driving the trend.”

Still, the U.S. Ranks 35th in world life expectancy rankings – far behind countries like Monaco (86.5), Japan (84.6) and even Italy, eighth overall at 83.1 years.

But, while we’re marching into the ranks of the gray in increasing numbers, most below the age of 50 rarely pay much heed to the need to grow old well and to grow old toward a time of independence and enjoyment of life.

Image courtesy of (stockimages) / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
 

Most experts on aging will agree the aging process, while undeniably very much about physical changes, is one that should be embraced as much with the mind and spirit as anything.

WebMD.com recalled the story

of one senior who decided to kick it into high gear to get his motor restarted. After hearing how many of his peers were worried about their appearances and the like, Kirt Spradlin has a different take on aging.

The great-grandfather is one of those vigorous and optimistic elders who astounds his peers. Naturally, he tires more easily and has to take things slower, he says. But having battled prostate cancer, the California man relishes every single month that life affords him. When asked his age, he proudly replies, “79 and a half.”

The former electrical engineer took up a new hobby after retirement: mountain climbing. He has climbed Mount Whitney and Kilimanjaro and trekked to a Mount Everest base camp. Just last year, he and wife Donna went on a weeklong backpacking trip — just the two of them alone in the wilderness. Donna is 80.

“People think we’re nuts,” he says. But for him, aging with a bad attitude is simply out of the question.

Susan Whitbourne, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, told WebMD a lot of aging well is between our ears.

A dose of healthy denial can improve outlook in one’s later years, she adds.
“The people who do the best with aging aren’t thinking that much about getting older. They’re not really focusing on what’s not working anymore. If you sit around mulling over the meaning of existence and how time is running out, you’re building in a scenario where you’re not going to age as successfully.”

Travel to many communities in the Southern U.S. and occasional pockets of Canadian provinces and you’ll see communities almost entirely dedicated to catering to and embracing the needs and interests of aging people.

They’re not, by any stretch, “raisin ranches” where shuffleboard and bingo are the biggest games going, and we could probably expect to see more of them.

In fact, there’s a global movement – which is only embraced in some of the aforementioned states and provinces in North America, for whatever reason – that is dedicated to creating “age-friendly communities.”

In Western Australia, the Department for Communities is encouraging local government authorities to “embrace the World Health Organization’s Age-friendly Communities concept which is part of an international effort to prepare for the ageing of our community.”

Image courtesy of (Ambro) / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
 
 
An age-friendly community is one which:

• Recognizes the great diversity among older people.

• Promotes their inclusion and contribution in all areas of community life.

• Respects their decisions and lifestyle choices.

• Anticipates and responds to ageing-related needs and preferences.

According to the Government of Western Australia, which has wholly embraced the concept, an age-friendly community benefits everyone in the community, not only older people as it creates a culture of inclusion enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.

AARP, Inc., formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group dedicated to retired or senior individuals. It’s become something of a clearing house for novel approaches the explosion of seniors in the worldwide demographic.

AARP has embraced the concept of age friendly communities and provides a concise overview of it and where such communities can be found in the United States and with links to worldwide age friendly communities.

Image courtesy of (stockimages) / FreeDigitalPhotos.nett

More information can be found here.


A terrific, highly interesting book on the issue was written by a Harvard professor following an exhaustive study comprised of more than 800 students as they progressed from early adulthood into their later years.

“Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life” was written by George E. Vaillant, M.D. Vaillant is a psychoanalyst and a research psychiatrist, one of the pioneers in the study of adult development. He is a professor at Harvard University and directed Harvard’s Study of Adult Development for 35 years.

One of his findings show we age better and more happily if we have someone to share the journey with.

According to Vaillant it’s “astonishing how many of the ingredients that predict longevity are within your control.”

Aging successfully, according to Vaillant, is something like being tickled — it’s best achieved with another person. Whether your social connections are with a spouse, offspring, siblings, bridge partners, and/or fellow churchgoers, they’re crucial to good health while growing older.

Richard Lucky, one of the so-called “happy-well” participants in the Harvard study cited by Vaillant, was always surrounded by people, whether it was having friends over for dinner or interacting with his children and grandchildren. In his 70s, he sailed with his wife from San Francisco to Bali, and he had begun writing a book about the Civil War. He told the Harvard researchers, “I am living in the present — enjoying life and good health while it lasts.”

Many of us might not have the wherewithal, finances or drive to sail across the ocean or pen a tome on the Civil War, but we can certainly begin embracing – and planning for – those so-called golden years.

Like birth, death and taxes, we’re all inexorably going there so we might as well enjoy the ride.

Cosmetics and Accessory Bags

 
 

Friday, May 23, 2014

The Perquisites of Aging

Trona Pinnacles_10000-100000_years_old

 

Yes, those of us over fifty, sixty, or even seventy, earn perqs of aging.

The following were shared by one who knows with one who’s lived long enough to earn these perqs. ;-)
Kidnappers are not that
interested in you.
In a hostage situation,
you are likely to be released first.
No one expects you to run
anywhere.
 
People call at 9 am or 9 am and ask,
‘Did I wake you?’
 
People no longer view you as a
hypochondriac.
There is nothing left
to learn the hard way.
Things you buy now
won’t wear out.
You can eat
supper at 3 or 4 PM.
You get into heated arguments
about pension plans.
 
You no longer think of speed limits
as a challenge.
You quit trying to hold
your stomach in no matter who walks into the room.
You sing along
with elevator music.
Your eyes won’t get
much worse.
Your investment in health insurance
is finally beginning to pay off.
Your joints are more accurate meteorologists
than the national weather service.
 
Finally, your secrets are safe with your friends
because they can’t remember them either.
 
Thanks John Quick for passing along these perquisites.
 

Dementia Signage for the Home

 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Start a Bucket List Worth Keeping

 

Image courtesy of (anankkml) / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
 


“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause…”
— Theodore Roosevelt

Teddy had it right.

A “worthy cause.” It’s a phrase tossed about with abandon any more, mostly by politicians, but also by self-serving celebrities who like to put their name or faces to something that may enhance their public profile or popularity quotient.

But, for you and I — the average working stiff or regular Joe or Jane — the notion of venturing off to deepest Africa to help fight the spread of AIDS in Third World villages might be a stretch.

Or is it?

Many of us have tossed around the idea of a bucket list. You know, “I’m definitely putting skydiving, just one jump even, on my bucket list.”

But, corny as it may sound to some, there’s a big old school of thought out there that says the idea of adding some good deeds for a ‘worthy cause’ to the bucket list can be as rewarding as that always-dreamed-of trip to the Super Bowl.

Caroline Adams Miller, MAPP, a certified professional coach and co-author of Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide offers some solid ideas on how to go about compiling a bucket list that would make your mom proud.

“The list should consist of things you plan to attempt and want to reach for so that you leave behind the imprint you wanted to have,” says Miller.

The bucket list was popularized by the wildly successful 2007 movie of the same name in which two men (played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) — both given grim health prognoses — set off on a series of adventures.

But, while Nicholson’s character, loaded and able to afford the wildest adventures possible, blew the bank in the movie, Miller is suggesting something much more pragmatic for you and I.


“The research is clear,” Miller says. “The happiest people wake up every day to short and long-term goals that involve taking risks, connecting with others, and persistence.” Set specific, challenging objectives that move you beyond your comfort zone, she suggests. “Properly-set goals provide a roadmap for our lives, and we end up being proactive instead of reactive,” she notes. “We are also more optimistic because we are always looking forward, not behind.”

According to Medscape.com, physicians and those in the health field, for example, can make some of the biggest impacts in a bucket list-style contribution to the world.

Some doctors make this goal come true by working through Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization. For example, David Austin, MD, from Albion, Maine, has made four trips to underdeveloped countries, including Sudan, Congo and Haiti.

Likely, though, you’ve heard pitches wrapped in pitches and sometimes from an “inspirational speaker” who, let’s face it, usually has a catch by which he or she can make a buck off your dreams and sense of self inadequacy.

But, there’s a cat named Tal Gur who has a website entitled Below Zero to Hero that offers some pretty inspirational stuff for those of us who are looking for one or two important bucket list targets.
Sure, he too offers books and services, but Gur has lived some pretty amazing life experiences and offers some meaningful bucket list goals — goals that can make a difference in your life and that of others — that include some easily attainable targets.

bucket list
talgur.me image
 
If you look on his “1,000 bucket list ideas” page, you’ll find some admirable achievements. You’ll also find a smattering of silly ideas and a lot of duplicated bucket list goals (mentoring, blood donors, etc.)

But, a sample of some of those ideas offers some good starting points: “…48. Build Schools For Women and Girls in Developing Countries, 49. Buy a Cup of Coffee For a Cold Salvation Army Bell Ringer, 50. Buy a Stranger a Meal at a Restaurant, 51. Buy a Stranger’s Groceries, 52. Care Less About What People Think, 53. Change “My Story” to “What I Want my Life to Be,” 54. Change As Many Lives As I Can, 55. Change at Least One Person’s Mind About Gay Rights, 56. Change Someone’s Life For the Better, 57. Change Someone’s Point of View, 58. Complete 26 Random Acts of Kindness…

For those of us who need a little bump in the ideas department, there’s a book for that. Who knows, there may well be an app for that, too, but for now, consider Amazon’s listing for a book that could offer some simple suggestions.

Nearly 20 years ago, Conari Press published Random Acts of Kindness, and launched a simple movement — of people being kind to one another in their daily lives.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Random Acts of Kindness, the editors of Conari Press have compiled Random Acts of Kindness Then and Now, which includes the original book along with new material sourced from Facebook, Twitter, and various other social networks.

“It combines the best of 21st Century crowd-sourced wisdom with the best of 20th century social activism. The inspiration for the kindness movement, Random Acts of Kindness is an antidote for a weary world. Its true stories, thoughtful quotations, and suggestions for generosity inspire readers to live more compassionately in this beautiful new edition,” according to Amazon.com

The original Random Acts of Kindness was name a Best Bet for Educators in 2000 by USA Today. As well, there’s a compendium of hints provided by the blog clearing house Squidoo.com
It suggests:


Making a Bucket List – The Basics
  • 1 – The easiest way is to simply start creating a list on a piece of paper. You can use a yellow legal pad, a page from a notebook, or the blank page of printer paper.
  • 2 – Most people are able to list the first 10-20 ideas before they get stuck. Don’t let that little lapse worry you. Just stay with it. All of a sudden your brain will get the idea that you are serious and cough up some more ideas.
  • 3 – A lot of people like to have a end game in sight so they assign a number to their list. Creativity and journal writing instructors often like to use the 100 List exercise. You’ll go through a series of waves when the ideas will come. Just stay with it. About the time you’re ready to give up the ideas will begin bubbling up to the surface once again.
  • 4 – Many people like to transfer their list into a more formal journal and put one item on one page. That way when they accomplish the item, they can write a few notes about the experience.
  • 5 – Others are happy to stay with the simple list and just cross of the item when finished.
  • 6 – Don’t wait to start your list. Begin now. Action begets action.
No on expects you to be Mother Teresa or to emulate St. Francis of Assisi in your lifetime, but it’s pretty much universally accepted that doing something good for someone close to you, or even for a stranger, is a simple strategy for making your community, your town or city, county or state a better place.

And, let’s face it, it makes us all feel a little better about ourselves.

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