Opinions 12 October 2023

HEART OF STEELE

Locals show passion, purpose matters in aging well
By
Joni Hubred, News Editor
Joni Hubred, editor, Steele County Times

During last week’s Owatonna Foundation Legacy Luncheon, I listened closely to honoree Carol Larson talk about his career as an entrepreneur.

As his speech wrapped up, though, I needed to check one detail with Foundation director Sara McKay. Certainly, I must have heard wrong.

“Did he say that he’s 82 or 92?” I whispered.

“92,” she said. “He’s amazing.”

I used that same adjective to describe Jim Killen, who has been painting professionally for more than 60 years. He spoke with joy and passion about his work, but one thing he said really hit home for me:

“I feel my art is a gift of God, and it shouldn’t be wasted.”

There’s no better motivator for a life of fulfillment than living your passion. And now, it looks like that can also help you live longer and better.

In a recent podcast called “Growing Bolder,” Dr. Ken Dychtwald, founder of a company called Age Wave, pointed out that “old” in our grandparents’ time meant something completely different than it does today. Think about all the people still on the state, national, and world stage well into their 80s and 90s. Actress and comedienne Betty White kept her career going nearly until the day she died, at age 99.

“What’s shifting is the way we think of old,” Dychtwald said in the podcast.

He’d like to see the word “purpose” added to our definition of aging. His organization’s “New Age of Aging” study, which included 2,000 American adults, with over 900 aged 50-plus, found that youthfulness is taking a back seat to the word “usefulness”.

“We know that active aging is more than just being active. It’s about trying new things. It’s about being of help to others. It’s about being mindful about the future… it’s also about taking really excellent care of yourself so that you can live those extra years with vitality and with vigor and with the ability of doing the kinds of things that might be possible.”

No matter what your age, I hope that you will find ways to stay as active and involved as the men I met this week. It will do your heart–and our community–a lot of good.