Category: Health and Wellness

I get a lot of newsletters about living life fully. Many of them come from websites featured on CarpeDiemDay, like the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) and Grateful Living.

A few weeks ago, in this blog post, I shared that GGSC recently sponsored a Love Grant RFP, and thanks to the many uplifting February newsletters focusing on love, I found all kinds of inspiration for expanding what I could do.

Rather than reinvent the wheel with a new nonprofit, I realized I could promote existing organizations and volunteer opportunities—bringing in my own special niche: solo aging and even incorporating my Agile expertise. I’ve always thought it would be cool to combine two of my passions: Love and Agile!

My Love Grant Proposal

I’ve never written up a proposal before. Once I saw all that was required in the GGSC Love Grant RFP, I knew that even filling out the proposal would be time-consuming. Given that one of the major factors in receiving a grant is “Reach” and my audience is rather small, I know it’s very unlikely I’ll win this grant.

However, just completing the proposal gave me the kick in the pants I needed to put a plan in place for partnering with organizations that align with my vision.

As I took a stab at filling out each field, I became more excited about what I could do with the CarpeDiemDay Website and the Carpe Diem Connections Podcast, even if I didn’t get the grant.

Here’s my project summary:

Agile Love: Embracing Change & Connection for Solo Agers

Love evolves as we age, yet many older singles feel invisible or disconnected. This project blends storytelling with Agile principles—adaptation, feedback, and continuous learning—to help aging singles cultivate meaningful love in all its forms. Through interviews, essays, and engaging discussions, I’ll explore how embracing change fosters connection. Partnering with AARP, Grateful Living, and others, I aim to shift narratives around aging, love, and community.

Podcast Revival

Applying for the GGSC Love Grant also motivated me to do something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now: Revive my Carpe Diem Connections podcast! This season, I’ll focus on Grateful Living, inspired by the work of Grateful.org. Their resources and daily gratitude practices align perfectly with my mission of embracing life fully.

Each episode will explore how gratitude can transform our lives—especially in retirement. I’ll be talking with guests who embody grateful living, sharing personal stories, and giving practical ideas for cultivating gratitude in everyday moments.

I got permission from Grateful.org to share their articles. For now, I’m just keeping the podcasts short and sweet. I’m still traveling and don’t have any fancy equipment. I also have to relearn the podcasting process, but I was pleased that restarting was easier than expected.

As time goes on, I’ll be looking for guests—particularly solo agers—who have unique perspectives on building love, connection, and gratitude in their lives. If you or someone you know has an inspiring story to share, let’s connect!

Join Me on This Love and Gratitude Journey!

This year has started out hard for a lot of people in this country. I believe this has been the most divided I’ve seen our nation. I’ve felt discouraged and helpless. However, these past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of inspiration. I’d love for you to join me in this journey of spreading love and gratitude. Here’s how you can be part of it:

• Follow the podcast! I’ll be sharing updates on Carpe Diem Connections and my blog.
• Try a gratitude practice—check out Grateful.org for daily inspiration.
• Be a guest on the podcast! If you’re a solo ager with a story to share about love, connection, and gratitude, I’d love to hear from you.
• Join Carpe Diem Connections, a free Facebook group to connect with like-minded people.
• Leave a comment! How do you bring more love and gratitude into your life?

Let’s make retirement (and every stage of life) about connection, kindness, and seizing the day!

So, I’m back in Superior after my Florida stint, psyched to be home. But guess what? My car’s MIA, stuck in shipping hell. Oh dear. But here’s the silver lining: while I’m carless, I stumble upon a treasure, practically in my own back yard—the Superior Community Center. Turns out, there’s a whole bunch of cool stuff for the over-60 crowd like me that I never knew about. Book clubs, Texas Hold’em games—you name it. It’s like I hit the jackpot!

As I learned during the pandemic, a “Staycation in Superior” is an awesome opportunity to explore my beautiful town!

Activities for all Age Groups

The Superior Community Center is only about 1/2 mile from my house. I love walking there, even when my car is available. Last year, I often walked over for a variety of events – open-mic night, ukulele jam, DJ Bingo, and Thursday night choir practice.

One of the many great things about this intergenerational community choir is that it’s very informal! No auditions necessary! Even though I was gone all winter, I was able to join right in again, as if I’d never left.

Activities for 60+

I decided to check what activities were on the schedule for the over 60 crowd and what a surprise! There’s such a variety and abundance of classes!

Since I’ve been home, I’ve joined the Book Club, the Fountain of Youth drop-in group, and played Texas Hold’em yesterday at the Games group.

The young woman (2nd from the left), Hannah, works at the Superior Community Center and helps facilitate many of the activities. Next to her is Carol, who was teaching Texas Hold’em. I almost didn’t go, thinking I was already a pro, but I learned a few things myself!

Fun Atmosphere

Besides the variety of activities that are being held at the Superior Community Center, it’s just a fun place to hang out.

It’s funny that I’ve been actively looking at moving to a 55+ community so that I’d be able to find new nearby friends, activities, and clubs. A couple of weeks ago, I found that so much was available at the library close to my Bradenton condo. This week, I find there’s an abundance of activities available walking distance from my Superior home.

Feeling inspired to explore what your local community center has to offer? Don’t wait! Check out the activities calendar, gather some friends or fly solo, and dive into the fun. Whether you’re into book clubs, card games, or just looking to meet new people, there’s something for everyone. So, go ahead, discover the hidden treasures of your own neighborhood, and make some unforgettable memories along the way!

Are you finding new opportunities for community? Come join us on the Carpe Diem Connections Facebook page and share your experiences!

Today I ran the Luau 5K, decked out in my Hawaiian finest!

I know a 5K is not a very impressive distance, but it’s exciting for me since I’d thought my running days were over.

My Running Buddy, Bonnie

I used to run a lot. My main running buddy was my neighbor, Bonnie. We ran so many races together over the past 20 years. These included several Bolder Boulder 10Ks, the famed Bay to Breakers in California, the Denver Rock’n’Roll Marathon, the Horsetooth Half-Marathon, and countless 5Ks. In fact, in 2013, we ran a 5K every month in costume.

Running Again After Bone Density Improvement

Then, 5 years ago, I had some major back problems, including osteoporosis.

I was at risk for a vertebra fracture, so the doctors recommended against high-intensity sports like running.

However, after 5 years of AlgaeCal, my bone density improved and I’m no longer osteoporotic! (I’ll probably write some other blog post about Algaecal and my success story with that, but I don’t want to get too far off topic.)

Last Fall, I was walking with Bonnie, and told her that my back was better and I was thinking I’d be able to run 5Ks again. We remembered how much fun we’d had with our Year of Costumed 5Ks and agreed that we wanted to do something like that again.

However, I spend winters in Florida, so we couldn’t physically do a monthly event together. Bonnie suggested we each do a challenge of our choice and share photos.

US Road Running Race Club

I was excited about the idea of running again. When I searched for 5K races in Bradenton, Florida, I discovered the US Road Running Race Club! They host monthly races and (here’s the best part) they have theme-based costume contests!

The club sent an unexpected Welcome card (so sweet!) and T-shirt. Race entrance fees are 50% off when you join the club and they even offer the ability to do virtual races and submit pictures on their Facebook page!

Today’s race had a theme of “Luau.” Since I didn’t bring my wide array of costumes with me from Colorado, I ordered a pink hula skirt and matching leis. It wasn’t the most creative of costumes, but I was happy with it.

And guess what? I won the costume contest!

Of course, I’m pretty sure I was the only runner who came to the event wearing a costume. My fine-tuned strategy when it comes to winning contests is to be the soul contestant.

The volunteers and workers at the race were handing out leis. (Another gold star for US Road Running Race Club!) I think the person who was in charge of the picking the winner of the costume contest was a little worried until she saw me, just before the race start.

She immediately told me I’d won the contest, gave me my medal, and took a picture of me at the front of the pack at the starting line. Instant celebrity!

Even though other people think it would be embarrassing to be the only one in costume, I embrace my inner-child.

I admit, it IS embarrassing to be the only adult in competition with kids. Luckily there were no kids who were dressed up.

It’s also awkward and embarrassing when the costume contest is settled by audience applause. Go ahead, cute little kids, steal the show!

But blissfully, I was the soul contestant and scored an easy win!

I came home with two high-quality medals – one for the Best Costume and one for finishing the Luau race.

The weather was perfect and running felt really good! The low altitude and flat terrain (along with my slow pace) made it an easy race. Five years ago I thought I’d never be able to run again. I thought I might be in constant pain. Who knows what the future will bring, but I’m so grateful for today.

This was one of the highlights of the month for me and a wonderful way to start 2024.

Thank you US Road Running Race Club! Looking forward to more!

Lucid Dreaming – The Final Topic in my 2023 Year of Learning in Retirement

In the final month of my 2023 Year of Learning in Retirement, I picked Lucid Dreaming as the topic I’d take a deeper dive into.

To be honest, I’ve been super-busy and distracted and hadn’t even picked a December learning topic when my friend, Chris, sent me a link to the Lucid Dreaming online class.  Chris, who lives in Bali, is an avid meditator, and goal-setter, himself.  He’d just completed The Mindful Guide to Lucid Dreaming class, which was available through the Insight Timer app.

I’d just arrived in Bradenton, Florida and had tested positive for Covid, upsetting my plans to visit both Chris and his mother, who was turning 90, in St. Augustine.

Since those plans were completely disrupted and I had a week of isolation and bed-rest in front of me, it turned out to be the perfect time to learn about Lucid Dreaming.

What is Lucid Dreaming?

Though I can’t be certain I’ve truly experienced it (even after having taken the class) it sounds like Lucid Dreaming is the ability to have an awareness and control your actions while dreaming.

I’ve experienced the awareness piece on occasion, but not the second half – taking conscious action during a dream.

How does the class teach you to Lucid Dream?

First, the class helps you enhance your mindfulness and your ability to control what you’re thinking.  This part was very similar to what I learned when studying meditation. (Makes sense since Insight Timer is an app that includes guidance on Mindful Meditation.)

Many of the exercises began with breathing exercises and an awareness of your conscious thoughts, including when you transition to a sleep and dream state.  It was very handy for me to be listening to this class and doing these exercises while I was feverish and in a half-asleep state already.

As you slip into this dream state and see or experience something that wouldn’t be possible, your conscious mind that’s still half there is able to register, “This is a dream. I am not really pregnant again.”  (One of my recurring dreams is that I’m pregnant yet again. In these dreams, I have lots of babies which I don’t remember having. These are undoubtedly the children resulting from all the other pregnancy dreams.)

OK, back to reality. Next time, I’ll be able to realize that that back pain is NOT about pregnancy!

Recording Your Dreams

So…what you’re supposed to do when you’re conscious enough to remember your dream is this: grab a notebook that you keep by your bed and write down your dream.  If you wait until you’re fully awake, there’s a good chance you won’t remember the dream.

When I listened to this part of the class, I thought to myself: “I’m too sick to even want to move to take the much-needed Tylenol that’s sitting on that bedside table. This will have to wait.”

A couple of weeks later, when I wasn’t so sick, I was having a not-very-interesting dream about my girlfriend group. I also had to pee. I thought, “Since I’m up anyway, I should write down my dream.”  

However, I’ve struggled with insomnia my whole life.  Even though I had to get up to pee, I was still sleepy enough that I went right back to sleep without a problem.  If I had taken the time to write my dream down in a journal, I think it would have made it difficult for me to drift back to sleep. Bottom line: I’m not doing the journaling thing.

Why learn about Lucid Dreaming?

I thought the final few lectures were the most insightful about the benefits of Lucid Dreaming.  Often we dream about things that are bothering us in real life.  If we can interpret and dig into the meaning of our dreams, we might be able to rewrite our ‘dream story.’  This, of course, might be especially useful if our dreams (or nightmares) are related to an anxiety that we need to address.

One of the most difficult times of my life was in 1997 after my brother (another ‘Chris’) died in a car accident. I had dreams every night where he was alive. Then I’d wake up and re-experience the grief of his death.  (The opposite has also happened…. Dreaming that someone has died, and the huge relief in waking up, knowing it was just a dream.)

However, when I was having the nightly dreams that my brother was alive, it became so common that in my dream, I realized it was a dream, and would think, “I don’t want to wake up. If I wake up, Chris will be dead.”

As anyone who’s been through grief knows, it can be a time of deep depression and despair.  Every morning when I’d wake up, again to the realization that Chris was dead, I would sob uncontrollably.

But one night, the dream was different. Chris was there and told me he was OK. He was his typical carefree, full of happy energy self, telling me to stop worrying.  He was so real that it felt like I was really communicating with him in the afterlife. Even after I woke up, it didn’t feel like I’d just had a dream.

Was my experience “Lucid Dreaming”?

I don’t think that experience was “lucid dreaming” because it didn’t feel like a dream.  It could have been my subconscious.  However, the experience was vivid enough that I had a different feeling going forward.  I was still sad that Chris was dead, but I had a sense of peace and a belief that he had been able to communicate with me and reassure me that he was OK. (I just wish he’d have given me a little more information about the ‘after-life’!)

Since that whole experience happened before I knew anything about “lucid dreaming,” I don’t know if it would serve as an example of how we can rewrite our dreams.  However, if you have a recurring dream that upsets you, I think the idea is to ‘day dream’ a different outcome..  maybe one that you overcome the challenge you’re facing. The next time you have the dream, your lucid dreaming skills will help you rewrite your dream to a more positive outcome.  Doing this in your dream (even in your day dream) may change your mindset and feelings while you’re awake.

Summary – Learning about Lucid Dreaming

Lucid dreaming, like meditation, helps us develop more awareness of our minds and our consciousness. 

Dreams can give us insights into our minds.  By having a deeper awareness about our dreams, we may learn how to change the outcomes, not just of our dreams, but of our waking lives.

While I don’t intend to keep a dream journal or work much more on trying to develop my lucid dreaming skills, I’m glad I learned about this unique mind-control skill.