THE SENIOR MANIFESTO: 31 Suggestions For A More Thoughtful Month By Jane Seskin

THE SENIOR MANIFESTO:

31 Suggestions For A More Thoughtful Month

By Jane Seskin

1. Celebrate your half-birthday.
2. Inhale to count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 8.
3. Don’t wait to be rescued. You’re already wearing your life preserver.
4. Keep arguments under 20 minutes.
5. List what makes you happy. Now take action.
6. Don’t bring your phone to the table.
7. Take more steps today than you did yesterday.
8. Know what specific music comforts you.
9. Anger is one letter short of danger.
10. The answers are within you…listen closely.
11. Seatbelts always, everywhere.
12. Use bedroom solely for sleep and sex.
13. Don’t “should” on yourself.
14. Finalize will, health proxy, power of attorney.
15. Play tourist in your city.
16. Enjoy candlelight at any time.
17. Put the past in the past and live in the present.
18. List 3 things that will be different a year from now.
19. Don’t stand up to put on underpants.
20. Memorize a poem.
21. Exit a bus from the front door.
22. Stop for today and nourish your heart.
23. Don’t dismiss insomnia.
24. Wear red, the color of power and protection.
25. Read 30 minutes a day for enjoyment.
26. Hold people accountable for their bad behavior.
27. When you take it off, hang it up.
28. You have a daily opportunity to be kind.
29. Get to appointments early. Sit and observe.
30. Do the unexpected and surprise yourself.
31. Yes, life is tough … but you are tougher!

Jane Seskin is a licensed clinical social worker and the author of 13 books. Her most recent is the poetry collection: Older Wiser Shorter: The Truth and Humor of Life After 65, which you can purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop. Her poems and essays have appeared in more than 40 publications (Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, Persimmon Tree, Next Avenue, NYT). She’s been a contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul Anthology series. Jane has been a writer-in-residence at the Vermont Studio Center and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Follow her work on Instagram and Facebook and find out more at her website, janeseskin.com.