Tag: aging

Sage Advice®

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11.09.21 | Sage Advice®

How to Age Gracefully

Aging is a unique experience that has no set rules or guidelines. Previously, we’ve explored how to embrace the process of aging and talked to Sage Collective Board Members about aging in place.

Contrary to what many presume, aging gracefully isn’t about transforming into your best physical self; instead, the transformation is focused on feeling and acting as your best self. Similar to our 9 Ways of Vibrant Living, aging gracefully pulls from numerous principles that champion a joyful and enduring life. Here is Sage Collective’s advice for how to age gracefully and establish essential support as you become older:

Be Mindful

Mindfulness is a critical skill required to carry through life, as it helps you become more focused on the present and less on the future or the past. With time and practice, mindful thinking reduces stress, improves memory and heightens emotional responses. Meditation is one favored technique many use to train themselves in mindfulness. 

Get Involved in Things You Love

As we age, discovering a meaningful hobby helps maintain a sense of purpose and encourages engagement in life. Whether you find passion in participating in politics, mentoring others or engaging in faith-based services, evidence shows that people who engage in something they love experience greater happiness and a longer life. 

Connect With Others

Fostering a sense of connection with those by whom you are surrounded  helps enrich the process of aging. Families, friends and communities can serve as powerful resources with varying types of assistance. Genuine support systems have dramatic effects on your connection to your physical environment, which considerably affects the quality of your personal experience with aging.

Take Care of Your Body

One of the most crucial ways to age gracefully is by supporting your body’s health through actions such as nutritious eating, plentiful sleep and routine exercise. Actively caring for your body lowers the risk of numerous diseases and greatly improves balance and mobility.  

Don’t Forget About Your Mind

In addition to taking care of your body, tending to your mind and mental health can dramatically shift the aging process. Surrounding yourself with things and people you love boosts positive moods and fuels feelings of  prosperity. And while aging is a complex process, it can be a beautiful thing when embraced and celebrated.

Though inevitable, aging doesn’t have to be strenuous. Taking the time to learn how to age gracefully and successfully incorporating these tips into your life can have wonderful effects on your future.

Cropped shot of a senior woman holding a cane in a retirement home
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Sage Advice®

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08.10.21 | Community

Embracing the cultural process of aging

As we articulate in the Sage Vibrant Living Manifesto, cultural perceptions of aging have an enormous impact on individuals and their communities. As we continue to fight ageism and the traditional American notions of aging that many of us still experience today, we look to the wisdom of others to share new ways of thinking and doing.

Carl Honoré, writer and activist, argues that in order to age better we must feel better about the process. Learning how to age better in a world where aging is presented in a negative frame can be extremely hard, but it only takes a few minutes to change your perspective. In his TED Talk, Honoré explains how to embrace the aging process. Honoré also delves into his method for combating ageist traditions and practices within our lives. Watch below to learn more:

A quote sits on top of an image of two older adults laughing. The quote reads "We need to feel better about aging in order to age better," and is attributed to Carl Honore. The sage logo sits in the bottom right corner.
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Sage Advice®

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05.11.21 | Community

Announcing Sage Collective’s Vibrant Living Manifesto

Sage Collective is thrilled to unveil our Vibrant Living Manifesto. This manifesto lays clear our approach to vibrant living, and invites all those who think and do similarly to join us. Read the full manifesto below: 

Aging isn’t just a biological process — it’s also a cultural process. Our cultural perceptions of aging have a profound impact on the experience of growing older.

We rebuke the traditional American model of valuing novelty and youth above age, experience and wisdom. We instead call upon other exemplary models for inspiration: Native Americans herald their elders as the keepers of tradition and storytelling, and in many Eastern civilizations, filial piety (to be good to one’s parents) is deemed an essential duty. 

At Sage Collective, we believe that humanity is at its very best when we connect and engage with one another. We believe that elders have boundless knowledge to share with youth, and vice versa — because we believe that life is a constant, collaborative journey for all ages. 

So we’re here to disrupt the status quo, to catalyze change in the way people understand the role of older adults in society. We’re here to create an innovation lab — to test new ideas, processes and products and expand our ways of thinking and doing — as a way of establishing a radical new framework where older adults are valued and engaged, where they experience a life lived vibrantly.

Freedom, flexibility and joy… access to high-quality, affordable and vibrant living… We believe these are rights, not privileges. That’s why Sage Collective is providing residences, programming and ancillary services to manifest our vision. 

As with any vision, ours is nothing without the support that translates ideas into action. We need residents and participants who share our commitment to vibrant living and want to be a part of it. If you’re a collaborator, a disruptor, a changemaker, a change-seeker… we invite you to do better, for ourselves and others, to live more vibrantly, to be a part of the collective.

Graphic reads: Sage Collective Vibrant Living Manifesto. Aging isn't just a biological process — it's also a cultural process — and our cultural perceptions of aging have a profound impact on the experience of growing older.
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Sage Advice®

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12.17.20 | Sage Advice®

A Vibrant Living Guide to Aging in Place

How does vibrant living play into aging in place? “Aging in place” describes the process of growing older at home. It’s a process rooted in independence and comfort; a way for older adults to maintain normalcy and their sense of community.

We recently spoke with Angela Higginbotham about her expertise on aging in place, learned from assisting her 93-year-old mother at her mother’s home. Higginbotham is a CPS educator, Lead Speech Pathologist and a member of the Sage Collective Board of Directors.

Maintaining Independence 

“First off, I feel grateful to have the opportunity to care for my mom,” reflects Higginbotham. “I saw the sacrifices she made for my family growing up and I’m happy it’s my turn to do that now. As for how our caretaking occurs: it’s a family affair where my mother is directly involved in the decision-making process. My brother, sister, mother and I all sit down and have a conversation about how she’s feeling, what her needs are and how we can support her as long as we can in an independent setting.” 

Though aging in place isn’t a viable option for everyone, it’s important for older adults with the mental and physical capacity to maintain that level of independence. “As long as people are able to take care of themselves, they’ll be able to take care of themselves longer,” explains Higginbotham. “So helping older adults to age in place, when possible, is essential to sustaining a vibrant life. Because I believe that once people stop maintaining their independence, it affects them psychologically and emotionally.” 

Text over a green background, with quotation marks at the top and the Sage Collective logo at the bottom. Text reads: Helping older adults to age in place, when possible, is essential to sustaining a vibrant life.

Staying Engaged Through Community

“My mom still has her driver’s license — she’s smart about it and only drives between 10-2, when everyone else is at work and when it’s safest — but she still goes to church and out to see friends,” says Higginbotham. For older adults, social isolation and loneliness are often big hurdles to overcome. Staying engaged with family, friends and community members, then, plays a vital role in supporting a more vibrant lifestyle.

Higginbotham goes on to say: “My mom also personally knows many of my friends. From time to time, they’ll give her a phone call or even go and visit, which is something I so appreciate. It means she’s connecting with people and that’s so important.” Though maintaining independence is a large part of aging in place, it is these moments of human connection and care that help the experience feel even more comfortable and warm.

Staying Engaged Through Culture

Social engagement is one thing — but finding things to do for oneself is vital, too. We’ve emphasized before the importance of older adults discovering activities they love. Higginbotham reinforces this perspective, sharing: “One of my mom’s favorite hobbies is quilting. In the spring, we’ll also go to the nursery and pick out plants for both her place and my place together. I’ll keep her company at her house while she plants hers and then she’ll come over while I do mine. We also — pre-COVID times, of course — loved to go to the theater. We’d get lunch or dinner and see different plays across the city. It gave my mom something to talk about, too, because she’d go back and tell her girlfriend all about it.” 

Higginbotham reflects on this, saying, “It’s important for people to get out and see what’s going on in the world. As people age, their ability to transport themselves to new places is limited, and they know about, what they know about. But, if there are people around who can expose them to new experiences, it enriches their lives.” 

Aging in place is just one way to live a more vibrant life. But, whether at a personal home or a care facility, both experiences share a commonality: community and cultural experiences have the ability to engage older adults and enrich them, leading to more vibrant living for all.

Angela Higginbotham
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