There are a variety of recent publications, most notably by Gene Cohen, on the benefits of growing older. Although it may seem a hard sell, with age our capacity for being creative increases.

For me, creativity is, or at least includes, both an attitude and associated actions of exploring the new and different and even the bold. A friend of mine talks about the willingness to “step into new worlds.” That phrase has stayed with me.

I am working part time in a family law office. Mary and I joined a choir for people who believe they cannot sing. Stepping into new worlds can include challenging limiting beliefs we hold about ourselves and redefining ourselves in the process. It is risky and it is energizing.

“I am not creative,” is a limiting belief. We are socialized to be competitive. If we cannot be the best or at least excel, we need not bother. That message is further reinforced by the lack of encouragement and sometimes the toxic criticism of influential adults that can last a lifetime.

Our choir director likes to work with older adults. She says we have humility rather competitiveness and an urgency to learn, an “if not now, when” attitude. We take instruction well and work cooperatively with others, a necessary attitude in a choir. We are encouraged and thrilled to uncover abilities we had not imagined.

Stepping into new worlds speaks volumes about enriching one’s life in the later years. Aging brings with it a freedom to be creative. We are no longer constrained by the tedious routines and demands of careers and our children are grown. We can shift from the necessity of getting things done to the enjoyment of savouring the life we create.

The heavy focus on leisure in the later years is largely the product of advertising and marketing to a segment of the population that is growing, educated and relatively affluent. If we do not define ourselves in our later years, others will be happy to do it for us with a profit margin in mind. Leisure is fine but it needs to be balanced with meaningful activity. All play makes Jack insidiously dull.

Being creative involves learning and learning stimulates brain development throughout the lifespan. The older brain is actually well suited to creativity. Lateralization in cerebral hemispheric functions balances out in later years such that both hemispheres are involved in creative thinking. The older brain is powered.

The later years are actually a prime time to pursue specific forms of creative expression in the arts. Gene Cohen comments that such activities are “chocolate for the brain” and that the older brain may actually seek the novelty offered in the arts.

The knowledge, wisdom and life experience that come of age allow us to be resourceful in creating novel solutions to problems and life challenges. These are assets that have been highlighted by advocates of intergenerational relationships and mentoring of those who are further behind us in the pack.

A feature of humans, as compared to other mammals, is grand parenting. The image of “grandpa and grandma” on the precipice of dotage is in contrast to that of GRAND parents in the family scaffold. Grandparents are positioned to model values and to provide quality intergenerational relationships to young children not readily accessible anywhere else. Who is better qualified?

Being creative is also an adaptive response motivated by changing circumstances associated with aging. Age takes away and so age must also add, and it is the creative addition or adaptation that is an important feature of the aging process. I can’t run fast and win races anymore. I now cycle. I can go faster and longer with less effort. I am not burdened with cares about winning.

I remember my high school football coach reminding us that “we still have the second half to play.” That is a more relevant reminder than ever. I am writing this essay to clarify for myself what has become life-span frontier territory rather than a gradually increasing wasteland. The term “creative age” is intended to highlight growth rather than decline as we take the field for the second half. Creativity is our intended form of meaningful play.

© C O P Y R I G H T   2 0 0 9.  Gary Holdgrafer ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.