Seniors Week is an opportunity for Australians of all ages to join together and celebrate the valuable contributions of older people. In 2017, Seniors Week in Queensland will be celebrated from 19-27 August. Seniors Week aims to:
Improve community attitudes towards older people and ageing.
Facilitate community participation and activity by older people, including those from Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Enhance community connections and inter-generational relationships.
I often hear from my clients and my own ageing parents, “There’s nothing good about getting old”. The ageing process does have a way of challenging us with physical, mental and emotional changes or deterioration of our eyesight, hearing, mobility, agility, continence, fitness and the list goes on.
However, in my experience also, as the body starts to wear out, the soul can flourish. I see those who age gracefully with dignity and humour and become better not bitter, and those who age and become grumpy and begrudged with the world and everything in it. I know which one I’d rather be.
Another area where I see seniors challenged is their feelings of self-worth and self-esteem. Sad to say that today in our ‘youth worshipping’ culture, sometimes our senior Australians often don’t receive the respect they deserve. Being sexy is something we usually attribute to the young and beautiful not to ageing seniors. I beg to differ, and would like to promote that being ‘sexy’ isn’t about age or physical beauty, but how you feel on the inside. Loved. Accepted. Fulfilled. Connected.
Intimacy doesn’t mean sex. It can mean having a great conversation with someone that makes you feel valued and appreciated. Connection. Intimacy without being physical. This can happen at any age, and my hope for our ageing Queenslanders is that they always feel valued and appreciated, not shoved away in nursing homes to be forgotten and become lonely. Being a sexy senior means to embrace one’s age and embrace the unique challenges that growing old can present whilst maintaining a sense of purpose, intimacy and connection. Happy National Seniors Week.