Creativity Can Empower Your Second Half of Life...

There are many ways to uncover and develop your creativity. The great thing is … it can help all aspects of your life. Every day we hear of amazing creative people who are active well into their seventies and eighties. One of the most famous was Grandma Moses (1860-1961), an American folk artist, who started her art career when she was 79 and continued well into her 90’s. People view her as remarkable because she started her art career so late in life. She is not unusual in terms of people who continue to their creative endeavors to the very end. George Burns (1896-1996), the American actor and author so many loved, started out in the days of vaudeville and acted well into his 80’s. Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976), the detective novelist, wrote up until her death at age 86, her books selling over 100 million copies. In your own life, you probably have friends who are always trying some new creative endeavor, so it’s not just the famous who nurture this aspect of life. Many changes occur as we enter the older years, and they are often factors that can release aspects of creativity that have lain dormant. When families have been raised there is often more time to pursue creative activities. At some point, careers come to an end, and a person can pursue creative hobbies, or even start an encore (encore.org) career that enables them to use their creative talents. The brain is different in the later years, and many of the ways are amazing and wondrous. It is conceivably part of our evolution as mankind. So many are living to be so much older, not only in the United States, but all over the world....

Music Fosters Brain Health and Creative Expression...

 “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” – Plato Within the realm of music lies a certain kind of magic. It has the ability to transport you into another time, to relive beautiful moments from the past, to lift your spirits, and, most importantly, it allows you to connect to something greater than yourself. In the second half of life, cognitive engagement and brain health become a vital part of your well-being. Music has been proven to strengthen brain activity, and studies are showing that it may help ward off dementia. If you let it, music can bring a positive energy force into your life. There are also many ways that enjoying music can become part of enhancing your social connections. Below are ten ways that music can help improve your way of life. 1. Strengthen Your Memory The medial pre-frontal cortex, the part of your brain that sits just behind your forehead, uses music to trigger powerful memories. A recent study using brain scans showed that music linked to a strong memory created an extraordinary amount of activity in the pre-frontal cortex. Since the front part of the brain is the part that endures, this could explain why Alzheimer patients will often remember music from their past, even when all other memories have disappeared. 2. Awaken Your Creative Spirit An upbeat song is great for a motivated work out, but when you feel like you’re in a creative rut, loud music may not be all that helpful. According to a study done by the Journal of Consumer Research, moderate ambient noise is best for creative endeavors. High...

My Second Act: Writing My First Musical...

This editor hopes to pursue his passion all the way to Broadway For my second act, I’m in the process of writing my first musical, with dreams of taking it to Broadway. Let me tell you how this has happened and my hopes for it — and for me. The course was charted long ago: when I was in fourth grade in Cincinnati, Ohio, my parents took me to see the national touring company of The Sound of Music and it was love at first sight. From that moment on, I spent hours listening to Broadway cast albums and reading the published scripts of plays and musicals my parents received monthly from the Fireside Theater Book Club. While other nine-year-olds memorized baseball stats, I memorized song lyrics. Turning a Pipe Dream into a Project For 50 years, the love affair continued. Every so often, I’d imagine what it would be like to someday write a musical, but I thought it was nothing more than a pipe dream. Since I also loved writing poetry and reading, I’d pursued a career in publishing, editing dozens of books running the gamut from Johnny Cash’s memoir to a new translation of The Dead Sea Scrolls. Then, about two years ago, at a friend’s birthday party I met a talented singer-songwriter named Jay Jacques, who played a few songs on his guitar. A few days later I wrote Jay, suggesting that I’d be happy to write lyrics if he ever needed a songwriting partner. He took me up on the offer and we wrote a few pop songs, including a fun bossa nova. One day, as Jay glanced at the posters and books in my apartment, a veritable shrine to musical theater, he asked:...

Why the Arts Are Key to Dementia Care...

This form of communication can engage intuition and imagination When you receive a serious medical diagnosis, it can feel as though that diagnosis replaces your identity. I am no longer myself — instead, now I am cancer, or heart attack or dementia. But even when we carry a diagnosis, we also continue to live our lives. We are more than our diseases and care plans. People can live as long as 20 years with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease  disease. Family and professional caregivers, as well as community members, need tools to ensure that people with Alzheimer’s can be more than their disease. But how? Conversation can be challenging, in person and by phone. How can we stay connected and foster what has come to be called the “personhood” of someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s? The answer is: the arts. A symbolic and emotional communication system, the arts don’t rely on linear memory and rational language. Rather, the arts engage our intuition and imagination. Their building blocks for expression are movement, gesture, words, patterns, sounds, color, rhythm, texture and smell — to name just a few. As access to rational language falters, a person’s imagination can soar. Memory vs. Imagination You don’t need to be an artist to use the arts for expression. These tools are available to everyone. Over the last 20 years, I have worked to encourage care partners to communicate with people who have dementia through creativity. The shift from expecting and correcting memory to opening and connecting through imagination can be profound, especially for family members. After years of distance, the arts can help families rekindle an emotional connection. I remember in one workshop for caregivers, I was demonstrating how they could use open-ended questions...

Still Working After 75 — And Loving It...

Growing numbers of Americans that age have no plans to retire Willie Nelson is 81; Warren Buffett is 84; Mary Higgins Clark is 86 and David Hockney is 77. All are still working and going strong. So are more and more Americans 75 and older. You might be one of them someday — and glad of it. In a recent interview, British painter David Hockney — one of the world’s greatest living artists —captured the joy, meaning and youthfulness he continues to draw from his profession. “When I’m working, I feel like Picasso, I feel I’m 30,” he told Tim Lewis of The London Observer. “When I stop I know I’m not, but when I paint, I stand up for six hours a day and yeah, I feel I’m 30.” ‘It’s What I Enjoy Doing’ I imagine that sentiment rings true for Mark Paper, age 81. He’s President of Lewis Bolt & Nut Company in Wayzata, Minn., a firm owned by his family since 1927. Paper took the helm from his father in 1962 and remains deeply involved in the company’s expanding operations. He gets daily and weekly reports, stays in touch with its executives and flies out to visit the manufacturing plant in La Junta, Colo. several times a month. “Why not stop working?” I asked Paper. “You have money. You’re 81-years-old. Haven’t you heard of retirement?” His answer: “It’s what I enjoy doing.” Plenty of other septuagenarians and octogenarians feel the same way. Although people working at age 75 and over are a distinct minority— comprising less than one percent of the total labor force — roughly 11 percent of American men 75 and older are still at it and 5 percent of women that age are....

The 15 Songs That Defined the Boomer Generation...

Weigh in on which of these meant the most in your youth We each have our own life soundtrack, especially those of us who grew up in the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll. Mine is heavily influenced by growing up in 1950s Philadelphia with an older brother (not a boomer) who sang with street-corner doo-wop groups and danced on American Bandstand. Individual soundtracks pull from a combination of ingredients, including when you were born, where you lived and which radio stations you listened to. But there were some songs that became part of a collective, generational playlist. Back then, radio was our Internet, and the songs the DJs spun connected us to our world and to one another. Here, in chronological order, are the 15 songs that this boomer ranks among the best that spoke to and defined our generation. Yes, my list tilts more East Coast, urban, R&B and late ’50s and ’60s. And I realize that, like every time one person tries to represent the millions of individuals who make up the baby boom, there will be discussion. In fact, I’m looking forward to comparing notes. Tell Next Avenue which songs you would put on a list of music that made us who we are, in the comments section below. Jailhouse Rock – Elvis Presley (1957) Why I loved it: “Elvis the Pelvis” had been around a few years already and was huge with my older brother and his crowd. This song was when I jumped on that bandwagon. It seemed really cool to have a hit song from a film with the same name — one of Elvis’ better flicks — and the song’s two-chord riff is among rock’s most unforgettable moments. Memorable lyric snippet: Bugsy...

Happy Aging Through Creativity...

Anna Mary Roberston Moses was 76 years old when she picked up a paintbrush for the first time. Discovered by an art collector who was passing through her town, Moses, who became known world-wide as “Grandmother Moses”, soon became one of the art world’s most sought-after artist, with many of her paintings hanging in museums all over the world, including Paris and Vienna. As you enter your older years, many of your hobbies will change, often due to circumstances beyond your control. Creativity is unique it is something that is driven by will and determination. Whether it’s painting, writing, singing, or creating through another medium, there is a power that lies within using your imagination to produce something. The National Endowments for the Arts commissioned a study in 2001 to measure the impact of a cultural, artistic program on people, aged 65 and older. The results were staggering. Those participating in the cultural program not only reported having overall better health, with less doctor visits, need for over-the-counter medicine, and falls, but also had a significant improvement in mental health. The cultural program participants also reported an increase in the number of activities they were participating in, showing that being part of a creative community could help build a stronger social connection. So how exactly does creative expression help you age better? This question can be answered in five simple parts: It Empowers You With age, we lose control over so much in our life. Retirement often leaves us with a sense of uncertainty, so much of our identity being rooted in our “work”. By engaging in a creative endeavor you assign yourself something to be connected to, something to find pride in. With mastery and dedication, comes a...

4 Types of Visual Arts To Try...

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton Whenever I find myself on the phone for an extended period of time, I always end up with a pen in my hand, doodling little flowers and shapes on whatever piece of scrap paper I can find. The act of moving the pen across the paper, absentmindedly drawing whilst holding a conversation is super relaxing to me. Creating something, even a small doodle can be a great way to relax and get out of your head. Visual arts are a great way to express yourself. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have much artistic experience – expression is all about what you want to create. For many entering the second half of their life, becoming visually creative maybe a great way to bond with others, enhance their brain through creativity, and expand their sense of purpose in life. For those who are facing a tough time communicating because of health-related impairments, visual expression via painting or drawing may be a great way to feel empowered and heard. A friend of mine recently retired, after being a teacher for 40 years. Finding herself with lots of free time, she decided to take up painting and pottery despite that fact that she hadn’t dabbled in the visual arts since she herself was in school. She spends most of her time now creating beautiful paintings of the California landscape or funky little pieces of pottery that she gifts to her friends and family. She says that she’s never been quite as happy as she is right now. Read on to find out about different forms of visual arts and how doing them can benefit you. Painting/Drawing...