10 Older Adults 263relationships, and coordination and connection to services that support health
and other necessary resources. The naturally occurring retirement communi-
ties (NORCs) and Village models they explored focused on keeping partici-
pants’ “social convoys” (networks of friends, families, and others on whom
they can draw for social support) broad and active by keeping participants
involved in community governance and activities.
Limited health care, poverty, and malnutrition accelerate the aging pro-
cess, while having access to a stimulating social environment, a well-balanced
diet, and participation in a program of physical activity can enhance both
the intellectual and physical functioning of older adults. It is clear that the
person–environment perspective is a key to understanding how older adults
cope with their losses; when social interactions and supports are few, elders
have fewer resources with which to cope. Helping older adults remain actively
involved in social relationships not only seems to enhance their sense of well-
being (Carstensen, 2015), but to actually enable better health and ability to
cope with losses and other stressors.
For older adults, the final 30 years of life can be a time of reinvention, as
this phase of life does often bring a gradual release from the daily demands of
work and family and an opportunity to create a new life structure, depending
upon health and resources. Older adults also provide role models for adult
children and grandchildren, who can be inspired by the vitality and sheer
courage demonstrated by their elders to face the challenges of their daily lives
with optimism. Because older adults have more life experience and often have
faced challenges and opportunities that younger adults have not, they possess
wisdom to pass along.Positive Aging—A Paradigm Shift
Assuming economic sufficiency, people in their 60s can now anticipate many
more years, even decades, of healthy, productive, and fulfilling life. Instead of
withdrawing after retirement and focusing on mortality, many older adults
embrace the role of “elder” in ways that allow them to provide service and
wisdom to their communities (www.centerforconsciouseldering.com). One of
the expressions of this shift is the new Positive Aging movement (www.chang-
ingthewayweage.com; http://www.boomer-livingplus.com; http://www.Fiercewithage
.com; http://www.whitehair.com) that urges seniors to use their wisdom, experi-
ence, and passion to reinvent themselves beyond midlife (Life Planning
Network, 2013).
The Center for Conscious Eldering is another network whose goal is to
help older adults realize their potential and to encourage passionate
engagement and service to communities. This engagement is grounded
in “being” rather than “doing” and is informed by the ongoing experi-
ence of one’s spiritual depths and the guidance that can be found there (www. centerforconsciouseldering.com). Still another resource is The Transition
Network, a national organization whose goal is to help women over
50 navigate various life transitions (www.TheTransitionNetwork.org). The
New Senior Woman (Fleisher & Reese, 2013) provides vignettes of senior women