We had a wonderful week talking about walking, resilience, the beauty of aging and passion. We connected through singing, dancing, listening to music and creating together.
Firstly we want to say, to all our friends who celebrate, Happy Senior's Month! We appreciate you, value your contributions, and are so grateful to know you!
In Kathleen's Creative Flow class our theme was "The Walks of the World". We decided to redefine the word “walking” to include walks for all abilities, to include those in wheelchairs:
go on an exploration
have a change of scenery
share time with someone
Someone referred to a wheelchair as a rolling sofa, which made us think of a great song - Boardwalk in Atlantic City by Dick Haymes.
Together we went on a virtual walking trip to a beautiful beach. Before setting out we packed a Red Flyer Wagon with:
A pitcher of Pina Colada
A picnic with brie cheese and a large bushel of apples
Towels, hats, sunscreen, sunglasses (rose coloured ones), a bathing suit (bikini if you're feeling confident), and bottles of water.
Once set up, we poured our Pina Coladas and said "cheers".
We ended our session by creating a song together that captured our day at the beach. It is set to the tune "What a Wonderful World" - see our version below.
In Jennifer's Nia: Movement and Music class we spoke about resilience in life, nature and in our bodies. Here's how we described what resilience is:
The ability to bounce back
To be adjustable
The ability to come back to the original position
Some ways to deal with stress to be more resilient:
Make a plan
Learn relaxation techniques
Look at the cause of the stress and address it
Compromise
We thought of a lyric from The Glory of Love by Bette Midler that speaks to compromise and resilience: “You got to give a little, and let your poor heart break a little. That's the story of, that's the glory of love.”
We brainstormed: if resilience was an animal what would it be?
A bear, it’s strong and it is cuddly
Reindeer, it can survive long cold winters
A Blue Jay, it’s my favourite colour and try getting rid of a blue jay, they always come back!
We thought about what resilience would say:
“I’ll show you!”
“We all have strength”
“We are the come-backers”
“Walk into a punch and come back for another!”
In Simon's Music is Life class, he introduced his class theme as “The Beauty of Age”. Very promptly one of our members said, “You’re going to have to work hard to sell that one!”
Simon said, “One benefit of being over the hill is that you go down faster!”
He played Bill Withers “Grandma’s Hands" and then we thought about this quote “how old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?”
25, I’m not going to tell you what I got up to at that time but I was adventurous!
Exactly the same age as I am now. Today I know how I feel and I know how to change it, I am adjustable.
1 year old, I wouldn’t know why but I have a whole life ahead of me!
16, it's a time to enjoy everything and to hang out with friends.
We had a wonderful dance to The Steve Miller Band’s 'Fly like an Eagle”. Our artist Yvonne led us and then one of our participants took over. We followed her soaring over the mountains, all the while singing “time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin, into the future!!"
Here are some of our takeaways from today’s class:
Here’s to the future
Life is what you make it
Love will always remain
Steve gave a class themed around passion. We shared our passions:
Music and my husband!
Theatre, acting
Love of Jazz, good ol’ Jazz baby
Reading, music and knitting
Baking, singing and dancing
Painting, I like to paint flowers
Drumming
Cooking, I can cook anything you like!
Travel and when in Mexico drink tequila
Cake, with a good amount of frosting
My health
I get so much pleasure and fulfillment from being able to go outside each day and get my hands in the earth (gardening)
Sports fans are always very passionate “Go Habs Go!”
Steve shared his three passions, his love for his family, making music, and creating films. He played a film he created called “Like a Little Bird” which features a song he wrote inspired by his late mother. We tied in "passion" to living with a purpose (Ikigai). Robin G shared a book she read “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life” that talks about the importance of knowing your purpose. Especially in this pandemic, focusing on the small things that give us pleasure is now more important than ever!
Please join us next week for an amazing array of classes. Book your spot here.
