Huron-Perth Boomers - Spring 2023

HEALTH AND WELLNESS
The widely accepted definition of resilience
explains our ability as human beings to adapt
well when times are tough.
In my view, resilience is not only about our astonishing
capacity to endure difficult experiences, but also
about our ability to adjust and cope with situations in
a way that empowers us to emerge stronger, to thrive
in the aftermath and to integrate the lessons learned.
We do all of this without thinking much about it; it’s
more proof that we are far more powerful than we
give ourselves credit for.
Those of us who work in the adult lifestyle living
industry see resilience in action every day as folks
adapt to living in a new community. Over the past
couple of weeks, I’ve been struck by the many life
stories that members wanted to share. Resilience
is at the forefront of many of them, including the
gentleman who was living alone in a five-bedroom
home, doing his best to maintain it before he chose to
give up all that space so he could enjoy some space in
his life. Not long after moving into his adult lifestyle
community, he broke his arm and has found great
support from his new community to do everyday
tasks.
Too often we think we can’t do something or we’re
too frightened to take a risk to see whether it will work
out. It’s interesting to observe the air of confidence
of our community members. One woman shared
by Kathie Donovan
with us that her blood pressure and anxiety were
both high while she did her best to take care of the
family home after her husband passed away. After
three months in her new adult lifestyle community,
her mood had completely changed – her blood
pressure went down and she’s enjoying life.
There’s the couple who had been experimenting
with different ways to right-size their lifestyle, after
giving up their family home. They moved around
in a motorhome, so they could see the country
and spend the winter away from the snow. They
eventually decided to take the plunge and see if adult
lifestyle community was a fit for their active lifestyle,
and now they’re leaders in the community, spreading
positivity and forging great relationships.
There’s the farmer who lost his wife and wasn’t used
to going to events on his own, but eight years ago,
this music lover decided to go to a concert alone. He
was standing in line waiting to go in when he met
a lovely woman behind him. She had also lost her
spouse and, while neither of them had purchased a
ticket in advance, the music was magic that night and
brought them together in marriage and eventually.
One of the most amazing stories I’ve heard from
adult lifestyle community members is from a woman
who started by saying that she is the most blessed
person. She went on to say that, on her birthday at
the beginning of the pandemic, she wasn’t feeling
28 • HURONPERTHBOOMERS.COM