{"id":2521,"date":"2025-09-05T16:40:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T20:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/?p=2521"},"modified":"2025-09-05T16:40:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T20:40:43","slug":"aging-gracefully-creatively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/aging-gracefully-creatively\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m Aging Gracefully by Finding Creative Ways to Continue Doing the Things I Enjoy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen are you going to stop?\u201d<\/h4>\n

That\u2019s a question I\u2019ve heard more than once from people since I turned 70 some years ago. Why would I stop? Like everyone, my life has been a series of zigs and zags, some good, some less so. Life changes and we all adjust one way or another. Changing can be challenging but being flexible to new ideas and ways of doing things can provide a person with unexpected benefits, joys, and experiences.<\/p>\n

Looking back on my journey, I realize that the flexibility I developed in navigating life\u2019s obstacles has been a training ground for my future. We all have an outline of our story, and I\u2019d like to share mine.<\/p>\n

I got married, had kids, got divorced, went to college, and built a career. I\u2019ve worked for others and then worked for myself. My kids grew up. I remarried, went back to college, changed careers, and changed directions. All that zigzagging presented opportunities for personal growth.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Mary Ahern in the studio working on the oil painting,  My New World – Anemone-Redux<\/p><\/div>\n

So here I am still active, creating my art, gardening, bike riding, traveling, taking classes in various subjects, and embracing the fullness of life. I\u2019m also still actively working on websites, mine and others, publishing content on all my social media channels, writing marketing material for my work and other organizations, showing my artwork in multiple galleries, and giving artist talks to various audiences.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made changes that have enhanced this stage of my life. Aging happens along with aches and pains, plus other assorted gifts. How does one zigzag around that? How do I keep doing what I love and remain active and engaged despite the challenges?<\/p>\n

I made a creative pivot from digital painting back to my original love, oil painting, when my hips began complaining to me that I was sitting too long. My hours and years at the computer spent working on websites, writing, and creating my digital art were affecting the quality of my life. I changed my direction. When I paint in oils, I stand. Standing helped to ease my hip and lower back pain.<\/p>\n

Changing my art medium and process also gave me the unexpected benefit of exploring new styles and directions for my art. I began thinking about my art differently, which made the work I was creating look different. The long quiet hours of painting in my studio awakened a dormant passion and deep contemplation, something that didn\u2019t happen when working with the overstimulation of computers. My hip pain offered me the opportunity to free myself and to grow from the experience.<\/p>\n

Physical adaptations have also helped. As a lifelong bike rider, the fun decreased with the increasing wrist and neck pain I had on each ride. I found myself making excuses not to join my hubby on the invigorating rides we had always enjoyed together. We were both feeling a sense of loss without trying to burden each other. But then, a solution presented itself in the form of an e-bike. This was another major and very welcome change. Buying my e-bike had me fall in love all over again with riding. I\u2019d missed the breeze on my cheeks, the birds chirping as I rode by, the glimpses of wildflowers along the bike paths, and the fun of sharing the rides with hubby. Once I could ride again, we began taking bike cruise vacations since I could ride the daily 35-mile trips again. We became adventurers together.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Bike riding at Jones Beach, Long Island, NY.<\/p><\/div>\n

Staying strong and healthy is critical, so I work out at the gym twice a week with a trainer who specializes in functional training. His exercise plan keeps my muscles active and strong, which I need for balance, lifting, bending, and other tasks I do in my everyday life. It\u2019s helped me with my bike riding, gardening, and even more mundane tasks, like food shopping.<\/p>\n

I have been able to take advantage of some medical adaptations too. When my eyes became too blurry, I had cataract surgery. When I found myself saying \u201cWhat?\u201d all day long, I found relief, as did my friends and family, with my new hearing aids. The unexpected bonus was being able to listen to my music and audiobooks through these devices without bothering others around me.<\/p>\n

In my garden, I\u2019m downsizing the amount of effort it takes to maintain the landscape I\u2019ve created over the years. I\u2019m planting fewer perennials and more flowering shrubs. I\u2019m also planting more flowers in containers on my deck, which makes it easier for me to care for them. This downsizing allows me to continue to enjoy the garden without enduring the time-consuming and exhausting work of upkeep.<\/p>\n

For safety issues, I\u2019ve stopped climbing ladders to rehang the artwork in my studio as it comes and goes from and to art exhibitions. I have learned to ask my grown grandson to help me. He works for bacon and eggs on bagels, and we both get to enjoy each other\u2019s company.<\/p>\n

Investing in myself is critical to me, so I also invest in my passion for lifelong learning. This year, I\u2019ve been working with AI to learn how to use it efficiently. I\u2019ve also been taking a course on \u201cstrategy\u201d since having a strategy can be applied to so many actions. It has helped me realize that my zigzag life, navigating everything that has come my way, has been a deliberate strategy for how I\u2019ve lived life fully.<\/p>\n

The detours, downsizing, and accommodations I\u2019m currently making aren\u2019t negatives at all; they are my strategies for aging gracefully. In fact, they are helping me to grow and continue doing the things I enjoy. I believe that this mindset is the framework for living as full a life as possible at any stage of our lives.<\/p>\n

\n

Published initially in Sanctuary Magazine. November 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

Revised 9\/5\/2025<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen are you going to stop?\u201d That\u2019s a question I\u2019ve heard more than once from people since I turned 70 some years ago. Why would I stop? 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