What type of active ager are you?

Most of us are, or want to be active agers, but what do we mean by that? We can be active in different ways and whilst for some it could be training for a triathlon there are many others ways we could feel we meet with this title. Let’s start with the first one. I’ve […]
Thrive

Hi, it’s Dr. Denise Taylor down at the Wood. And I want you to thrive, not just survive. I think there’s a book somewhere that I’ve read with a title around that. Anyway, I used to know somebody and his standard answer to: how are you getting on? How are you? was plodding on. I […]
BUCKET LIST

I was asked recently, what was my bucket list, and it took me back a step, because it’s not something that I’ve thought about for a long time. A lot of people have bucket lists, which is, you know, all the things you want to do before you die. And it involves a lot of […]
Being visible

Hi, it’s Dr. Denise Taylor, and today I want to talk about being visible. There’s a lot written about people of around my age, mid- fifties upwards and about how we feel invisible, how we’re not seen, and we fade into the background. I don’t think I fade into the background, and I don’t think […]
The Valuable Time of Maturity

With age, comes, for me, a greater interest in and appreciation of poetry. I hope you enjoy reflecting on this by Mario de Andrade I counted my years and realized that I have less time to live by, than I have lived so far. I have more past than future. I feel like that boy […]
Have you thought about a sabbatical?

A time out to step off your busy life, contemplate a question, or consider your future. Some academics get a chance to do this every 7 years. This often takes them outside their lecturing and other work with students, it is often still work, but different, where they work on academic research and publishing. I […]
Having Fun

There is fun, and then there is Type 2 Fun. These are the activities we only recognize as fun afterwards. They can be physically challenging such as mountain climbing or where there is a fear, perhaps of being laughed at. I do comedy improv classes and hadn’t realized this was Type 2 fun. I still […]
Do you journal?

I do this in depth at different times of my life. I kept a detailed journal whilst preparing for, whilst on my vision quest and for the month afterwards. I’ve also done it as I started new relationships as it helped deal with the feelings of insecurity that ran through my head. Interestingly when I […]
Reflecting on transitions

I created this a couple of days after my graduation ceremony. Life is full of transitions – from the young graduates starting out in life, to major transitions along the way, including on retirement. We can all wonder – where are we going with the rest of our life? Image by Bessi from Pixabay
Time to think

When I need some time out to think things through, I escape to the wood. The peace and calming nature of trees help me to feel chilled and gives my head some space. I like being away from my usual environment, it gives me time to think and reflect and allows my time to clarify […]