Creating Balance in our After-50 Years
By Nancy Merz Nordstrom

 

“Be aware of wonder.  Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” …Robert Fulghum

A greatly admired older friend of mine once said that a balanced life, after leaving full-time work, should be composed of one-third work, one-third play, and one-third giving back. 

For those of us in our “After-50 Years,” the opportunity to make that balanced life a reality comes once we bid adieu to the nine to five world.  After that, it’s time to find the tools we need to create new life balance.  One of the most important of those tools is Lifelong Learning.

What is Lifelong Learning?  Quite simply, it’s a belief or philosophy that espouses one simple fact: maintaining an active mind and youthful spirit through interaction with peers and experts in all fields of interest creates a balanced life.  Distilled even further, it’s an opportunity to make your own unique contribution to society, to meet new people and to explore new ideas.  I like to think of it as a “health club” for your mind, your body and your spirit!

Recent studies at the National Institute on Aging have shown that those who keep their minds actively engaged in new learning say they are happier and feel more fulfilled than older adults who do not.  Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a well-known authority on brain research and aging agrees, saying, “In the 21st century, education and information may become for the brain what exercise is for the heart.”

Going further, studies conducted at Harvard, Duke and Johns Hopkins Universities have shown that keeping brains active helps retain mental alertness as people age.  Scientists discovered that the brain -- even an aging brain -- can grow new connections and pathways when challenged and stimulated.  The brain’s physical anatomy actually responds to enriching mental activities.  Lifelong Learning is a fantastic way to provide enrichment for our hungry brains! 

Lifelong Learning expands your intellectual, social, spiritual, and physical horizons far beyond what you might have previously thought possible. There are three major ways to use Lifelong Learning to enrich your life and create balance.  

First, join a Lifelong Learning program.  These programs are curriculum-based, non-credit, college-level programs usually run by and for older adults.  They are open to mature learners, regardless of previous academic history.  In other words, you don’t need any type of degree to participate.  All you need is a desire to explore and have fun.

What makes these programs different from senior centers, community or adult education programs is that they are made up of older adults who are interested in learning for the sheer joy of learning.  A strong volunteer aspect, a real feeling of community, and enriching social activities are also hallmarks of these programs.  Members participate regularly and get to know one another as friends, co-volunteers, and classmates.

Next, take off into the world of educational travel programs -- fun and enlightening ways to learn about a country’s history, culture, and politics.  These aren’t your typical vacations; while you do see beautiful and historic sites, you will also attend lectures, meet the local inhabitants and actively learn about the country -- the things they don’t show you on the usual tours. You will be challenged to expand your perspectives and global viewpoints.  At the same time, you will develop lasting memories and friendships. 

Finally, get involved in meaningful community service; use your skills and experiences to help enrich the lives of others.  Meaningful community service is all about engaging in whatever endeavor enriches your life and feeds your soul.  In fact, volunteers routinely encounter new perspectives and ideas that challenge as much as they enlighten. There’s nothing like helping others to put your own life into perspective and find balance. 

Now, more than ever before, it’s vitally important to add Lifelong Learning to your “After-50 Years.”  Doing so will foster a sense of personal empowerment and increase your self-esteem.  It will also ensure your continued growth and intellectual stimulation.  Lifelong Learning helps balance our minds, our bodies and our spirits.  When we are balanced we feel great.  And feeling great leads us on to explore other things.  It's a wonderful circle of enhanced wellness that helps create an enriched later life. Using the Lifelong Learning “health club” means our minds will be more stimulated, our bodies more active, and our spirits more fulfilled. 

As David, a Lifelong Learner from New York says, “We base everything on the belief that our capacity to learn and grow does not decrease as our years increase.  In fact, through learning and the adventures we embark on, we actually embrace self-fulfillment.”

Nancy Nordstrom was interviewed on our online radio show, Ultimate Living on September 19, 2008. To listen to the entire show, please click here. To listen to Nancy's interview, please double click on the Play Button below.


About Nancy Merz Nordstrom - Nancy Merz Nordstrom, M. Ed., is the author of “Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years” (Sentient Publications: ISBN: 1-59181-047-7), available in bookstores and online.  Learning Later, Living Greater introduces readers to the ideas and benefits of later-life learning.  It challenges people to become involved in meaningful new avenues of productivity: learning for the sheer joy of learning something new, educational travel, volunteerism, civic action, and more.  It shows them how to stay mentally and spiritually young.  Learning Later, Living Greater is the guidebook for transforming the after-work years into a richly satisfying period of personal growth and social involvement. Nancy also directs the Elderhostel Institute Network, North America’s largest educational network for older adults, with over 380 programs and more than 150,000 members.