10 commandments sa mga ‘Senior Citizens’

Ipokus ang buhay sa pagsasaya at hindi sa pagpapayaman.

Planuhin kung paano gagastusin ang mga naipong pera. Ilang taon na lang at uugud-ugod ka na. Ubusin
ang pera sa pagsasaya habang malakas pa. Huwag kang mag-iiwan ng perang pag-aawayan pa ng iyong
pamilya. Mag-reserve lang para sa funeral expenses.

Mabuhay sa kasalukuyan. Ang nakaraan ay nakalipas na, samantalang ang bukas ay hindi mo pa tiyak
kung masisilayan mo pa. Kaya ang intindihin mo na lang ay ang ngayon.

Kung may apo, i-enjoy mo lang sila. Pero huwag kang papayag na ma-ging baby sitter nila. Wala kang
moral obligation na mag-alaga ng apo. Nagawa mo na ang obligasyong ito sa iyong mga anak. Hayaan
mong sila naman ang mag-alaga ng sarili nilang anak.

Tanggapin mo ang katotohanan na ang paghina ng katawan at pananakit ng kasukasuan ay bahagi ng

pagtanda. Gawin mo na ang lahat ng gusto mong gawin habang may natitira pang lakas ang iyong
katawan.

Huwag nang maghangad pa ng mga bagay na wala ka. It’s probably too late kung magpipilit kang
magtrabaho para makuha iyon. I-enjoy mo na lang kung ano ang mayroon ka.

I-enjoy ang buhay kasama ang mga taong tunay na nagmamahal sa iyo—asawa, anak, apo at mga
kaibigan.

Magpatawad at humingi ng tawad.

Tanggapin ang katotohanang bahagi ng life cycle ang kamatayan.

Makipag-close kay God. Siya lang ang tanging makakasama mo paglisan sa mundong ito.

Ten Commandments for Old Age

Recently I came across this interesting article that has good advice on how to live meaningfully
in old age. I hope I remember these mantras of golden age when it is time for me to retire:

Many people feel unhappy after retirement due to the reduced importance given to them and
their opinions. But this need not be the case if we can understand and live by a few basic mantras
of retired life. Here are ten mantras to help you age gracefully, make life after retirement
pleasant, and to enjoy and treasure these senior years of wisdom and intelligence at their best.

1. Never say 'I am aged'

There are three ages - chronological, biological, and psycological. Chronological age is
calculated based on our date of birth; biological age is determined by health conditions and
psycological age is how old you feel you are. While we don't have control over the first, we can
take care of our health with good diet, exercise, and a cheerful attitude. A positive attitude and
optimistic thinking can even reverse it.
2. Health is Wealth

Taking care of yourself and your health should be your priority. Then you will not be a burden to
anyone. Have an annual health checkup and take the prescribed medicines regularly. Take out a
health care insurance coverage.

3. Money is Important

Use your money judiciously and don't spend beyond your means. It is all the more important to
plan your finances in old age. Aim to stay independent after retirement and do not take it for
granted that your children will take care of your expenses.

4. Relaxation and Recreation

You have lived a fast paced hectic life. Now its time to put down the glass and take time to relax.
Cultivate a positive attitude, enjoy good sleep, music and laughter. See the fun side of life.

5. Time is Precious

Imagine you are born again everyday. Use today gainfully. Live this moment.

6. Accept change

With retirement, you may see many changes in your life in a rapid sequence. Remember the fact
that change is the only permanent thing. It is inevitable, so accept changes in life gracefully.

7. Enlightened Self-Interest

We should definitely be grateful to those who stood by us. But our focus should be on the
internal satisfaction and happiness we derive by doing good to others, without expecting
anything in return.

8. Forgive and Forget

For the sake of our own health and happiness, let's forgive and forget. No point holding a grudge
against someone.
9. Acceptance

Take life as it comes. Accept yourself as you are and also accept others for what they are.

10. Overcome Fear of Death

Do not live in constant fear of death. Death is inevitable, everyone has to go through it. So, learn
to shed the fear associated with it

Fun & Activities for Seniors: Why Play Is

Important and How to Do More of It
Do your ideas about activities for seniors need an inspiring lift? You wouldn't be
the first person to say yes. After all, it's sometimes easy to forget how much fun
life can really be—regardless of your age. Joyful pursuits are what make us feel
truly alive, engaged, and connected. The world becomes more vibrant and
inviting when we give ourselves permission to play.

That's why it's such a good idea to explore all kinds of different options for having
fun. Every senior deserves to pursue enjoyable pastimes that make him or her
laugh, lose track of time, or feel like a goofy kid at heart. Plus, many of the best
activities for senior citizens cost little or no money. (For example, being silly—just
for the sake of it—doesn't have to cost a single penny.)

So discover why it's important to have more fun, and explore ideas for how to go
about doing exactly that. This article will show you why it's perfectly normal—and
necessary—to love playing and having fun as an older adult.

Contents
 What is fun anyway?
 Why is play important for seniors?
 Fun activities for senior citizens: 9 popular and inspiring kinds of play

What Is Fun Anyway?

That may seem like an odd or very basic question, but it's worth taking seriously.
Besides, fun might be a little harder to define than you think. We all have own ideas about what
is fun or pleasurable. The kinds of experiences that create the feelings we think of as fun are
extremely diverse and wide-ranging. No two people share exactly the same responses to every
type of experience.

Even so, it's important to maintain a helpful awareness of the general concept, especially if
you're a senior. Fun shouldn't be ignored by anybody. You're never too old to benefit from it.

So, what's the best way to define fun? Maybe we should think of it this way: Fun is the intense
enjoyment you feel when doing a voluntary activity that offers a consuming sense of positive
engagement. Sometimes, it's the result of being free to play without expectations or the pressure
of potential consequences, much like children do. And, of course, fun is the complete opposite of
boring. Fun lightens your heart.

Why Is Play Important for Seniors?

Here's where the subject of fun and play gets really interesting. The importance of play can't be
overstated. That's true for everybody, but it might be particularly true for seniors. After all, in our
later years, many of us become more prone to issues that can affect our health and happiness. So
any activities that can help us restore or prolong our vitality are essential. Having fun is a lot
more powerful in that regard than most people probably realize.

In fact, scientific studies continue to show that play and fun activities—for older adults or people
of any age—can have several major benefits. For example, play has the power to help:

 Improve how your brain works. Do you want to maintain your memory and optimize
your ability to learn new things? Playing and having fun—on a regular basis—can help
you avoid memory problems and enhance your creativity and mental sharpness.

 Heal, establish, or maintain relationships. Our social lives are incredibly important for
our overall well-being. However, a lot of seniors are lonely. In fact, on average, seniors
without spouses or partners spend about 10 hours alone each day.1 But fun and play can
enable seniors to make new friends or improve existing relationships. After all, things
like laughter and friendly competition are known to increase harmony, trust, empathy,
and intimacy among people who experience them together.

 Improve your mental and emotional well-being. Do you like the way you feel when
you have a brighter outlook on life and your sense of time recedes into the background?
Engaging in fun and playful activities can expand your optimism, multiply your moments
of joy, and reduce your stress. It can even help you prevent depression.

 Extend your life and improve your physical vitality. Who doesn't want to feel younger
or more energetic? Creating plenty of fun moments in your life can be a good way to
boost your immune system, reduce your risk of illness, and minimize your perception of
any existing pain you might already have.
As you can see, play should be a major part of life for everyone. We can all probably use many
more experiences of pure child-like joy. It's who we are, no matter our age.

Fun Activities for Senior Citizens: 9 Popular and

Inspiring Kinds of Play
Most of us would probably say that a passive activity like watching TV is entertaining. But does
it really rise to the level of being fun? On its own, maybe not so much (especially if you're
watching alone). That's why it's often a good idea to pursue other kinds of activities—the kinds
that make you an active participant in something.

Of course, the possibilities for doing that are practically endless. But you can narrow them down
by thinking about your unique personal interests and capabilities. Focus on voluntary activities
that don't come with any kind of obligation or that offer some flexibility in how you can enjoy
them.

Are your existing hobbies still good sources of fun? If so, keep pursuing them and consider
inviting some friends—or even your grandkids, if you have them—to join you. Teaching other
people about something you have a passion for can be highly enjoyable and rewarding.

Also, did you know that adults over the age of 65 tend to list physical activities as being their
favorite pastimes? According to one study, four of the top five activities most commonly cited by
seniors as being their favorites were active in nature. They included activities like walking and
jogging, gardening and yard work, playing sports, and other physical pursuits. Other favorite
activities included reading, arts and crafts, existing hobbies, games and puzzles, and socializing.2

Here's the bottom line: You get to decide what's fun for you. Even if you can't be as active as you
want because of a disability or advancing age, you can still find plenty of opportunities for
playing and having fun. And many activities (even physical ones) can be adapted to
accommodate your particular capabilities. So pay attention to your heart. Keep doing anything
that makes it feel lighter and causes you to smile.

Explore the following activity ideas for some inspiration:

1. Active Games and Sports

A lot of fun games for senior citizens involve physical activity. They give you the opportunity to
get some exercise, improve your hand-eye coordination, and feel a sense of control over the
physical world. All of that can be very satisfying, especially if you get to overcome fun obstacles
or compete with other people in a friendly way. Consider examples like:

 Golf
 Miniature golf
 Pool
  Shuffleboard
 Bocce
 Tennis
 Badminton
 Pickle ball
 Croquet
 Ball tossing
 Frisbee tossing
 Balloon volleyball
 Beach ball volleyball
 Traditional volleyball
 Horseshoes
 Lawn bowling
 Indoor bowling
 Wii Bowling
 Curling

2. Dancing, Karaoke, and Performance

Activities in this category can give you the experience of truly living in the present moment.
They can make it seem as if time has stopped while generating feelings of pure joy or
engagement. Dancing to music can connect your body to exciting and healing rhythms. Singing
popular songs (even badly) in front of other people can help you enjoy the humor in your efforts
and avoid taking yourself too seriously. And performing in other ways—such as acting in a skit
or trying a stand-up comedy routine—can remind you of how fun it is to tell stories in new or
creative ways. Take a chance and try activities like:

 Line dancing
 Ballroom dancing
 Salsa dancing
 Swing dancing
 Seniors' karaoke
 All-ages karaoke
 Acting in a play
 Telling jokes to an audience
 Reading books to groups of young kids
 Writing and acting out skits
 Participating in comedic improv
 Starting a seniors' dance troupe

3. Parties and Other Social Gatherings

Socializing can be a powerful way to inject more fun into your life. That's particularly true if you
get to reminisce about old times or talk about the other things that interest you. In fact, a good
conversation may elevate your mood and outlook more than anything else on this list, especially
if you keep things jovial. So don't shy away from attending other people's parties or joining
clubs. Also, consider planning some of your own events. These days, it's possible to plan parties
around all kind of fun themes such as:

 Casino night
 Murder mystery
 Trivia night
 Mexican fiesta
 Ugly sweaters night
 The 1920s, 50s, 60s, etc.
 Masquerade ball
 Arabian nights
 Mardi Gras
 Pirates
 Hawaiian luau
 Jungle bash
 The Oscars
 Formal tea
 Secret Santa

4. Traditional Games and Puzzles

These kinds of activities are perennial favorites for people of every age. But they are especially
popular with older adults as well as with younger people who want to figure out some easy and
fun things to do with seniors they care about. Board games and card games provide great ways to
socialize and benefit from the joyful challenges of friendly competition. And puzzles can help
sharpen your mind and give you a sense of progress and accomplishment. Consider games or
puzzles like:

 Uno
 Scrabble
 Pictionary
 Yahtzee
 Bingo
 Checkers
 Chinese checkers
 Dominoes
 Monopoly
 Chess
 Backgammon
 Cribbage
 Go Fish
 Poker
 Bridge
 Mahjong
 Canasta
  Rummy
 Solitaire
 Crazy Eights
 Crossword puzzles
 Jigsaw puzzles
 Word search puzzles

5. Animal Interactions

Who can resist the affection and playfulness of cute and cuddly animals? Just like people, they
want and need to have fun. So playing with them can be mutually beneficial. Besides, it's often
easy to find animals to play with even if you don't have any pets. For example, many animal
shelters welcome seniors who want to give dogs, cats, or other critters some quality attention and
playtime.

6. Gardening, Bird-watching, and Other Outdoor

Activities
As long as the weather is good, being outside can do wonders for a person's mood. After all, the
natural world is full of pleasurable sights, sounds, smells, and other sensory delights. That's why
many activities in the great outdoors are so fun. They let you feel like an explorer or like you're
connected to something larger than yourself. Consider activities such as:

 Gardening
 Bird-watching
 Walking
 Hiking
 Picnics
 Boat rides
 Metal detecting
 Kite flying
 Nature photography

7. Arts and Crafts

Did you get to play with things like crayons, paints, glue, and Popsicle sticks as a kid? Do you
remember how fun and freeing it felt to channel your energy and creativity into making
something new? Your imagination probably came alive as more and more new ideas streamed
into your mind. So why not recapture some of those same feelings by playing with various arts
and crafts? These kinds of creative recreational pursuits are great for people of all ages, and they
often make terrific elderly activities. Ideas such as the following can reignite a person's vitality
and sense of what's possible:

 Finger painting
 Watercoloring
 Oil or acrylic painting
 Sketching
 Pastel drawing
 Ceramics
 Mosaics
 Woodcraft
 Polymer clay modeling
 Papercraft
 Beading
 Knitting
 Crocheting
 Embroidery
 Quiltmaking
 Card making
 Jewelry making

8. Active Learning

Learning is always more fun when it's something you choose to do for its own sake. Whole new
avenues of possibility reveal themselves. As a result, you can experience a lot of playful
optimism, which builds on itself and leads to more new discoveries and opportunities for
exploration. So follow your curiosity and impulses. You're never too old to learn something new.
As examples, consider learning how to:

 Sing or play a musical instrument

 Speak a foreign language
 Use computers more effectively
 Write code
 Design websites
 Take professional-quality photos
 Write great stories
 Cook exotic meals
 Decipher hieroglyphs
 Perform magic tricks
9. Amusing Excursions

Getting out and about to go do something that's outside the ordinary is often a prescription for
fun. Many great options exist, especially when you gather a small group of people to share the
experiences. You may not be a kid, but that doesn't mean you can't go on field trips for some
laughter, excitement, exploration, and social bonding. After all, senior travel can be highly
rewarding. Consider excursions to places or events like:

 Theme parks
 Carnivals
 County fairs
 Comedy clubs
 Hands-on science museums
 Adult arcades
 Concerts
 Sporting events
 Plays
 Art shows
 Wineries
 Beer festivals

Make Fun a Top Priority

With so many great activities for seniors to choose from, it would be silly not to play as often as
possible. So get back in touch with your child-like qualities and start celebrating them. Having
fun is simply too important to ignore. You deserve to smile!

9 great activities for seniors with limited mobility

1. Spend time reading
Reading is a fantastic activity for older adults. It’s a fun way to spend
time and keep the brain engaged. It can also improve memory, reduce
stress, improve sleep, and delay cognitive decline.

Whether your older adult likes reading physical books, magazines, using
an e-reader, or listening to audiobooks, they can immerse themselves in
a well-told story, look at photographs, or learn about an interesting new
topic.

Organizing a book club among their friends is another way for seniors to
enjoy reading and socializing.
 

2. Explore a variety of hobbies

Hobbies are great for older adults with limited mobility.

Activities that don’t require a lot of moving around include cooking,

baking, birdwatching, knitting, crochet, indoor or container gardening,
playing a musical instrument, or learning a language.

This is also a perfect time to learn something new – maybe there are
hobbies or interests they’ve never had a chance to explore before.
Learning is also a great way to keep the mind active and prevent
boredom.

3. Exercise regularly
Even if your older adult isn’t very mobile, there may still be exercises
they can do to get their bodies moving.

Whether they’re sitting or standing, they can still get the health and
mood benefits, especially from chair exercises or chair yoga routines.

There are also exercise routines that can be done using a walker for
stability or just focused on the feet and ankles to reduce swelling.

4. Get creative
Getting in touch with their creative side is another fun way for seniors to
spend time.

Drawing, coloring, painting, and sculpture are all wonderful ways to be

creative. Fun projects might include creating scrapbooks, organizing
family photo albums, or making a family recipe book.

As a plus, being creative also comes with health benefits.

Research has found creative activities can help people who are battling
chronic illness to decrease negative emotions and increase positive
ones, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve medical outcomes.
 

5. Spend time outdoors

Getting outside to spend a little time in nature is relaxing and a great
mood booster.

Even if their limited mobility means that your older adult can only get to
the porch or sit next to a big window, getting some fresh air or viewing
the scenery is a great everyday activity.

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6. Have fun with happy visitors

Asking family or friends with babies or friendly pets to stop by for a visit
is another fantastic way to engage an older adult.

Almost everyone perks up in the presence of young children. And

playing with pets is another surefire way to bring cheer and reduce
stress.

7. Play games!
Games and puzzles are a fantastic source of fun times.

There are so many to choose from and most can be played in groups
with visitors, one-on-one for quality time together, and solo.

Try some classic games or card games, jigsaw puzzles, or crossword

puzzles.

8. Enjoy movies, TV shows, or music

Watching TV all day, every day isn’t a healthy pastime, but a movie or a
couple of TV shows can be an enjoyable part of the day or
week. Watching TV could even intersect with a hobby.

For example, your older adult might be interested in watching a

documentary on a topic they’re learning about. Or, channels like the
Food Network or the Travel Channel could inspire new recipes to try or
travel destinations to learn about.

Listening (or singing along!) to music they enjoy is another great activity.
Music has the power to reduce stress, anxiety, and pain. It also improves
immune function and sleep as well as helping memory.

9. Participate in charitable works

Even if your older adult isn’t very mobile or is homebound, they can still
give back to the community.

This is a wonderful way to stay engaged and feel a sense of purpose

and accomplishment.

Contact local charities, hospitals, or religious organizations to find out if

they have any projects your older adult could contribute to. That could
mean knitting or crocheting blankets or hats, creating no-sew blankets,
or helping to assemble care packages.