By: Daisy Au, Coordinator, Seniors Club and Andrea Montgomery Di Marco, Project Consultant
As the Coordinator of MOSAIC’s Seniors Club, I have the privilege of working with many newcomer seniors.
It’s Mental Health Week in Canada, and nothing is more important than aging well and keeping our mind and bodies healthy. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors have been dealing with social isolation, leaving a toll on their mental health.
On March 30, more than 130 MOSAIC seniors gathered to celebrate a year of DISCovery Project 2, which aimed to reframe existing limiting narratives about aging.
Throughout the past year, seniors were invited to attend workshops to talk about and engage with myths about aging, fragility, dependency, and more. In the project entitled “From What Is to What If to Why Not,” seniors engaged with creative imagination as they considered what aging could and often does look like. The wisdom that emerged challenges limiting stereotypes and invites greater visioning by and about seniors.
Here are some thoughts from one of our participants:
It’s my time to soar!
A reflection from Celia, MOSAIC Senior Leader
Thank you MOSAIC for organizing Seniors DISCovery Project 2.
Through this initiative and attending the final event, we immersed ourselves in the atmosphere filled with love, feeling the sublimation/exasperation of our souls. All the anxiety evaporated into thin air. I was thinking we are about to soar. I want to be a happy senior. I gradually discovered the truth/true principle. Do not take it for granted that only children need to learn. In fact, seniors need to learn too, continuous learning in an energetic and pleasant environment.
Everyone would say: “As seniors, we have to live fully everyday. Not only should one be happy on its own, but one also has to make others happy too. I hope people would like me.”
However, why should they?
Of course, I have to take care of people next to me first. When I let other people feel happy, other people will appreciate in return. Only when other people around are happy, they will like me. I will be happy too.
I can talk about happiness and living a good life. I offer my heart and sacrifice my love genuinely. I learned new skills, I set up zoom meeting groups. We learned keyboard piano, guitar playing, vocal singing, dancing and movement practice, video production, conversational English, and much more.
We could learn and interact happily during the pandemic. We kept ourselves engaged and merry all the time. We are grateful, grateful, and grateful!
Celia speaks for all of us in her expression of gratitude. We are grateful for the New Horizon for Seniors Grant whose generosity made this project possible, and for all the senior leaders who inspire us daily. We are grateful for MOSAIC and for our communities of support.
The MOSAIC Seniors program is for newcomers, age 55+ from all communities who are looking for group support, learning opportunities and activities. For more information, click here.
