What’s in a Name/Word?

This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help retirees, those soon to retire, baby boomers, and seniors reinvent themselves in this new stage of their lives called retirement. Her blog, public lecture, and new self-help book on senior reinvention are titled: Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years: Find Joy Excitement, and Purpose After You Retire. Her memoir is: Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class. Books descriptions follow her blog below. Both books are available at Amazon.com by clicking here and here. Her website is: LeeGaleGruen.com

CHITCHAT: I read a poem for Valentine’s Day on a local TV station. You might enjoy it. Here is the link: https://reflect-rossmoortv.cablecast.tv/store-4/3559-Valentine-s-Day-The-Hu-v1/vod.mp4

Now, on to my blog:

What’s in a name? pondered the Bard. Well, a lot it turns out. Names (or words) are just utterances–sounds made by air in our lungs forced out through our vocal cords which then vibrate to create them. However, we imbue names/words with great power or the lack thereof, depending on collective agreement. Some words we label “dirty.” Others are lofty, special, common, funny, and on and on. Why?

It’s because we humans have designated certain sounds or combinations of sounds to conjure up brain images of what we encounter in life. It’s our way of coping with our world. It orders it and makes it communicable between one another. That seems benign enough. However, the problem lies when such sounds are twisted, misinterpreted, and abused.

One example that jabs at me is the word: elderly. It seems to be used these days in a pejorative manner. It indicates that one is less than–is failing simply because of advanced age. There is a lot of brouhaha now about that around our 2024 potential candidates for U.S. President.

I don’t see myself in that elderly cast. I feel creative and full of zest for life. I participate in many activities, both physical and mental, ranging from attendance at a philosophy discussion group to hula dancing. True, there are some things I can’t do anymore that were a cinch when I was younger. Does that mean that I am no longer valid–that I should be put out to pasture? I don’t think so, and I refuse to accept that.

It’s odd that the term elderly evokes such a visual. The noun from which that adverb hails is “elder.” It has an opposite connotation. I have previously used the term elder in my writing in a complimentary way.

An elder is a person who, although in advanced years, is wise, knowledgeable, respected, and revered. Why does the addition of two little letters turn it on its head? I choose to toss them away and use the noun version to describe myself. You can, too.

With the snip of a pair of invisible scissors, you can go from elderly to elder. All it takes is a decision, a bit of will, and a little imagination mixed together in a powerful brew that will ward off the dreaded “ly.”

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

***

BOOKS BY: LEE GALE GRUEN

Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years: Find Joy, Excitement, and Purpose After You Retire (self-help): Not a one-size-fits-all approach, this self-help book for retirees, those soon to retire, baby boomers, and seniors offers an individualized, detailed guide to assist readers in discovering activities and pursuits in this new stage of their lives called retirement, based on their own likes and comfort level. I learned the secret the hard way transitioning from retired probation officer to actress, author, public speaker, and blogger. Audience members at my lectures on senior reinvention requested a book on the subject. This is the result, and it contains the content of those talks and six years of posts from this blog. CLICK here TO PURCHASE FROM AMAZON.COM.

Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class (memoir): After retiring at age 60 from my 37-year career as a probation officer, I mistakenly enrolled in an acting class for seniors.  A few weeks later, my mother died, and I invited my grieving, 85-year-old father to come to class with me.  This is the true story of our magical journey attending that class together for three years, bonding more than ever.  I wrote the comedy scenes we performed onstage twice a year in the acting class showcases, and all six scenes are included in the book.  I eventually transitioned into the world of professional acting.  As my fledgling, second career started going uphill, my dad’s health started going downhill.  I would recount to him each of my new experiences while I sat beside his bed at the nursing home where he resided in his final years. CLICK here TO PURCHASE FROM AMAZON.COM.

***

Please forward my blog in its entirety to anyone who might be interested, and post it on your Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts. To reprint any material, contact me for permission at: gowergulch@yahoo.com. If you want to be automatically notified when I post a new blog, click on the “Follow” button in the upper right corner of this page and fill in the information. To read my other blog posts, scroll down on this page or click on “Recent Posts” or “Archives” under the Follow button. To opt out of receiving this blog, contact me at the aforementioned email address, let me know, and I’ll remove you from the list.