OlderWiserWomen

Jackie is a 78 year old woman, who is racing today in Florida in the Ford Ironman Championship.

“You just decide you’re going to do this… and you tell yourself you will do it.” Jackie Yost, Ironman Athlete

Read more about the race and Jackie here.

I recevied a commentary this morning regarding women’s natural aging vs not allowing oneself to age nautrally. I was unaware of the woman and her book who took aim at women with “waddle necks” and aging, who felt that we, as women should not let ourselves “go”.
Personally I very much enjoyed reading the commentary, it was like a breath of fresh air.

You’ll find the commentary at: Women’s eNews. Nora Ephron’s sour dislike of what she considers women’s bodily aging, one subject of her new bestseller, took up an hour on NPR last month. Margaret Morganroth Gullette responds from what she calls “the feminist country of later life.”

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, now offers two free booklets designed to help people with limited literacy skills learn about Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and memory loss. In these easy-to-read booklets, the medical and technical language has been replaced by plain language, stories, photographs, and other features to help readers understand the content. “Our goal was to produce strong, clear materials to make information about AD and memory loss accessible to everyone, including those with limited literacy skills,” says Richard J. Hodes, M.D., director of the NIA. “These booklets also are excellent starting points for anyone who needs basic information about AD and memory problems, regardless of reading capability.” They are valuable additions to the comprehensive collection of health education materials available from NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center, adds Hodes. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you feel like you are taking life too seriously? Do you laught and play enough? I had not heard of the Older Woman’s Circus until now…but I think we need this more than we know.

Life is complex these days. We need to lighten up, need to laugh. Read Life Saving Circus and see how some women are accomplishing this….

Many remember Gail Sheehy as the author of Passages, written many years ago. Last month she published her new book, Sex and the Seasoned Woman. She states there is “a, new universe of lusty, liberated women, some married and some not, who are unwilling to settle for the stereotypical roles of middle age.”

She has interviewed a few hundred women, reporting the results here. The results should not be too much of a surprise to OlderWiserWomen…many of us are still having sex!

The book is not about sexual techniques or really sex at all. It’s more about empowering women to reclaim that part of their lives, about the possiblities that lay ahead, and an attempt to dispell some of the sterotypes that abound about women of a certain age.

The Happy Wednesday Broadcast is a wonderful mid-week boost. Every week, Joanie Winberg sends out a quick quote with some thoughts or tips that quote. Very inspiring and uplifting.

This week, yours truly and OlderWiserWomen were featured with a quote and thought! How fun it was to listen too!

Take a listen to Happy Wednesday. And if you are not a subscriber, consider doing so…you will not be sorry.

Barbara C. Phillips, NP

I think this is an important poem. Apparently so did Nelson Mandella when he read it during his 994 inaugural speech. (Thank you Jeanette Cates for bringing it to my attention.)

So…read it and then really think about it…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, ‘who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous?’

Actually who are you NOT to be?

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightening about shrinking
so that others won’t feel unsure around you.

As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give others permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

~Marianne Williamson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now ask yourself these questions:

• Without fear, who would you be?
• Without fear, where would you be?
• Without fear, what would your life look like?
• Without fear, what would you have done?

Is fear worth the cost?

Go out today and so something that makes you a bit fearful and allows you to be just a bit more powerful. Make sure you celebrate your results.

Think big, bold, beautiful and bodacious!

Namaste,

Barbara C. Phillips, NP
OlderWiserWomenâ„¢
ActingYourAge: A Guide for Women who Refuse to Go Over-the-Hill!