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Community Corner

Creative Aging/Postive Living Seminar

A daily local paper recently reported a new poll which finds
“seniors are upbeat but unprepared for aging” and the challenges it brings. But the typical reaction to aging is not for Sr. Janet Bolger, CSJ. For her, aging is more about attitude than the physical effects of passing time. Her goal is to help other embrace the later years of life.


 
Presented at The Well in LaGrange Park, IL, Janet and partner Sr. Maria Hill, CSJ, have designed the Creative Aging/Positive Living program to explore a different vision of aging, one that embraces the idea that the second half of life can be a time of personal growth and potential changes.  As part of dispelling the many myths that surround the aging process, Janet reviews the Art of Aging, while Maria presents on the Spirituality of Creative Aging.


“We wanted a program that helped train people to really LIVE each day of their life”, said Bolger. “Too many portrayals show the dissatisfaction of aging, so there is a lack of models” for capitalizing on ways to age creatively. Using a combination of sharing, multimedia, group interaction, and private reflection time, both Bolger and Hill feel they help attendees to redefine their expectation of aging, “one that does not  assume a trajectory of decline after fifty” but as Sara Laurence-Lightfoot has said as a time “when our courage gives us hope.”

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Janet and Maria are passionate about helping people reclaim their joy in life, and their zeal is infectious. Creative Aging/Positive Living runs this Tuesday, November 20, from 8:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. at a cost of $25, and no advance registration is required. For more information contact The Well at thewell@csjoseph.org; www.csjthewell.org; 708.482.5048.

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