Making Change
How Surrendering Some Responsibilities Can Bring Freedom and Balance
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“If we don't CHANGE, we don't grow. If we don't GROW, we aren't really LIVING.” Gail Sheehy, author Passages In Caregiving
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LifeQuest has been a wonderful challenge for Dot Beard (Cellana). A while back, while Dot wrote a letter to her granddaughter and her husband, she told them of some changes she was making in her life and why. Dot explained, “I realized I was no longer doing some things well enough, so I decided to make some necessary changes. For example, I gave up driving and sold my car, and I turned over my finances to my capable daughter. I also realized that I might not be a good singer forever and that I might want to try another form of art. So, I tried painting, and I love it! Now I’m trying to make up for lost time!” Dot closed her letter by challenging her grandkids to be able to change as their wants and needs change. She recognized that change is not easy, and that it is often easier to be what we already are. “We either sit around and botch some things up or accept the need for change and get help doing just that!” Dot has lived at Shell Point for the past 15 years. She fills her days by volunteering in the memory care unit at the Larsen Pavilion, singing in both the Shell Point Singers and the Village Church Choir, and, most recently, painting in the art studio every Tuesday and Wednesday. She also visits her sister, Betty, at the Pavilion. “We used to live thousands of miles apart from each other until now, and we’re going to make the most of it!” Since Dot has relinquished some of her
Dot took up painting when she recognized that she woudn’t be singing forever and that she would need another creative outlet. Now, her only regret is that she didn’t start painting sooner..
obligations, she not only has time for all her activities, she also has found time to just “loll.” “I am going to be 87 soon, and I have always been in a rush to accomplish all I can. My advice to myself and others is to make the necessary changes, keep your life full, and enjoy it!” It seems Dot cannot escape the word “change.” Recently, while attending church at Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. John Danner included in his sermon words that sum up the importance of change: “If we are willing to change, only then can we proceed. Only then can we move on to a new sense of wholeness. And often we will discover the cure was there all the time - just waiting for us to recognize it”.
What is LifeQuest? Continuing its tradition of taking a positive approach to active aging, Shell Point launched an innovative program called LifeQuest in January of 2013. The new initiative promotes personal wellness and community involvement by focusing on six dimensions of wellness: physical, emotional, spiritual, educational, community and social, and natural environment.
Shell Point Life | July 2013
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