Focusing on nurturing body, mind, and spirit or drilling further into 6-8 dimensions of wellness to intentionally build a balanced and vibrant adult life has finally become mainstream! There are more ways than ever to embrace Holistic Health.
Currently, environmental wellness is in the spotlight with research linking nature and good health. Being personally immersed in Montana’s natural beauty for most of my life, I agree! But after 25+ years as a healthy aging specialist, I know that environmental wellness encompasses more than parks, gardens, nature sanctuaries, forests, and oceans. It also includes how effectively your more immediate ‘created’ environments (home, yard, neighborhood, etc.) support wellbeing.
The Environment and Emotional Health
How we as individuals perceive our environment, navigate changes around us, and process our emotional experiences around these changes, significantly impacts health.
For example, when moving into a senior living community, some new residents embrace the change by finding gratitude and joy in their new opportunity-rich environment. Some begrudgingly accept this change but remain emotionally removed from the new environment, and others vigorously resist this change, often getting stuck in resentment that actively diminishes well-being.
Also read, 5 Ways to Experience a Fulfilled Life in a Senior Living Community.
EmbracingChange or Throwing Caution to the Wind?
These ‘professional observations’ became very personal this year as my husband and I made a dramatic life change.
Bozeman, Montana has been our home for 48 years and over the past decade has been continually rated as a top place to live for its beautiful surroundings, vibrant town, and proximity to endless outdoor recreation. Our 20-acre property is blessed with stunning mountain views, is 1.5 miles from the Gallatin National Forest, and 1 hour from Yellowstone National Park.
And we sold our place and moved.
Why? The short answer is because the area is changing so dramatically that we had to decide whether we could fully accept this forced change – or make our own change. I’ve absolutely loved living in Bozeman where I would load my horse in a trailer and be at a trailhead in 10 minutes, ride for 2-3 hours and be home by noon; making it easy to run my consulting business while also enjoying an outdoor lifestyle. I never imagined leaving!
But it has become one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S., bringing congestion we’ve never experienced and encroachment of new homes being built around us. We could have chosen to tolerate the change. Staying would have been far easier than moving after 42 years in the same location.
However, a mindset of just tolerating change didn’t appeal to either of us. We chose instead to take charge of change, prioritize an environment that supports our well-being in all areas of health, and actively create a new opportunity to love where we live!
At Your Age?
At age 69 and 67 respectively, my husband and I bought and moved to a more rural 125-acre Montana property and started a new adventure! Believe me, we’ve had plenty of people express the at your age sentiment – shouldn’t you be downsizing, what about access to healthcare, etc.? But ultimately, we decided that we would rather be gearing up for something than gearing down!
I’ve been alternately excited and terrified! What if we don’t like it as much as we have liked Bozeman? What if we can’t find our ‘tribe’ of like-minded people? And many other what ifs that attempted to stop us.
But what if we love the new place? What if we can easily build a new community of friends, and have a wonderful adventure for the last decades of our life?
Practicing What I Preach
So, after decades of wellness coaching – encouraging others to live large through their full lives and refuse to allow age to define capabilities, I’m practicing what I preach! Fear won’t keep me from challenging myself, and I won’t waste my energy on worry, but instead will use it to believe, create, trust, and grow.
That favorite quote and my lifelong work empowering healthy aging is helping me through this change! Visit Brilliant Aging for more information, and to access many free resources on lifelong health and vitality!
I’ll continue to share our experience with the Sixty & Me community as we build this new vision for our last decades, and promise to be open about the challenges (it hasn’t been easy) as well as the rewards (surprise instant community). I know many of you have been through huge transitions in your lives, and I encourage you to share your thoughts and advice!
Let’s Have a Conversation:
What is the biggest transition you’ve invited into your adult life? What strategies helped you navigate that transition? Have you faced challenges that you didn’t invite into your life, and how did you navigate that unwelcome change?
