Today’s culture puts great emphasis on vitality and youth which often results in a stigma and negative outlooks associated with aging. Stereotyping and poking fun of people as they age may seem like harmless fun, but it is indeed a form of prejudice in our modern society. What will it take to shift this in our society?
Cultures such as the one here at Acacia Creek—a Certified Center for Successful Aging and retirement community—dare to challenge those stereotypical perceptions. Acacia Creek is a community of vital people who stay engaged, keep active, and enjoy life. Acacia Creek residents never let loss, illness or chronological age stop them from continuing to lead a full and meaningful life.
Living the mission of successful aging proves that our senior years do not have to be focused on loss. Age does not prevent us from being active; rather our physical wills and our attitudes do. Frailty is not a natural symptom of aging; it is a byproduct of inactivity. The challenge each of us must take ownership of is to remain active in ways that promote good health and bring self-satisfaction, in spite of our limitations. One must be willing to challenge themselves and to continue to grow and change.
We determine how we want to live and what we want to do each day. Attributing every forgetful moment to getting older can actually worsen memory problems, according to Sarah Barber, Ph.D., a researcher at USC Davis School of Gerontology.
As we age, most of us experience changes in our memory and our body. Without activity, those changes can gradually worsen over time. When we say, “it’s just old age”, we are actually saying, “there is nothing I can do to improve how I am aging”. 70% of aging has to do with our lifestyle choices, so we must be willing to improve our health in order to improve our wellbeing.
Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.
–John Maxwell
Acacia Creek Retirement Community inspires residents to live an active, meaningful life. Our mission as a senior community is to enrich the independence, well-being, and security of our residents through exceptional services and care based on Masonic values.
To learn more about Acacia Creek or our senior housing opportunities, contact us at www.acaciacreek.org/contact
