Lifelong Learning Thursday

Nancy Merz Nordstrom, author of Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret of Making the Most of Your After 50 Years will share the benefits of Lifelong Learning on Thursdays.

LEARNING LATER, LIVING GREATER: 

The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years.

Lifelong Learning in Your Later Years… 

A Health Club for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit!

Imagine the excitement of exploring the historical and cultural treasures of the Tuscan countryside, the thrill of taking part in a lively discussion about the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh, or the satisfaction that comes from helping a reluctant student discover the value of education. There’s no doubt such experiences would spice up your life. The good news is all this can be yours by indulging in later-life learning.

Thanks to a vast array of opportunities available in the lifelong learning world today, we now have the chance to make our later years far more exciting than we ever dreamed possible. Incorporating lifelong learning into our After-50 years means our minds will be more stimulated, our bodies more active, and our spirits more fulfilled.

A healthy Mind/Body/Spirit connection is critical to getting the most out of life at any age. As we age, however, this connection becomes even more important. Lifelong learning, as older adults are discovering, can help strengthen that connection.

There are many different ways, both formal and informal, to engage in later-life learning. Reading a newspaper, a good book, or working crossword puzzles are all considered informal ways of learning. So, in many ways, just about everyone is, to some degree, a lifelong learner.

A study conducted for AARP by Roper Starch Worldwide, Inc. in 1999 bears this out. It showed that over 90% of surveyed adults age 50 and over do plan to continue learning as they age. When asked why, participants said they wanted to keep up with what’s going on in the world. They also wanted to continue their personal and spiritual growth, and have fun by learning something new.

Although informal lifelong learning takes place regularly, we will be focusing in these blogs on some of the more structured or formal ways to reap the numerous benefits of later-life learning.

For example, in coming weeks we will discuss how you can take non-credit classes on almost any topic at local lifelong learning programs, and on the Internet. Then we’ll talk about learning as you explore the world through educational travel programs. Finally, we will examine how giving back to your community (meaningful civic service) by using your skills and experiences can help enrich, not only your own life, but the lives of others. Later-life learning, as you will see, is really all about ways to keep your mind, body and spirit stimulated, challenged and fully engaged in your After-50 years. We’ve got a lot of exciting topics to discuss.

THURSDAY’S THOUGHT…

Benjamin Franklin said, “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” It doesn’t make any difference if we are 20, 50, 80 or older. Quite simply, we are never too old to learn something new, and in so doing, we keep ourselves fully engaged and connected to society. Now that’s an exciting thought!

For more information on Learning Later, Living Greater visit www.learninglater.com

You can purchase Learning Later, Living Greater at www.amazon.com

Till Next Time…

Nancy Merz Nordstrom is Director of the Lifelong Learning Department at Computer School for Seniors (www.cs4seniors.com)