Imagine the excitement of exploring the historical and cultural treasures of the Tuscan countryside, the thrill of taking part in a lively discussion about the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh, or the satisfaction that comes from helping a reluctant student discover the value of education. There’s no doubt such experiences spice up our lives. The good news is all this can be yours by indulging in lifelong learning.

Thanks to a vast array of opportunities available in the lifelong learning world today, older adults now have the chance to make their later years far more exciting than they ever dreamed possible. Incorporating lifelong learning into our “After-50” years means our minds will be more stimulated, our bodies more active, and our spirits more fulfilled.

A healthy Mind/Body/Spirit connection is critical to getting the most out of life at any age. As we grow older, however, this connection becomes even more important. Lifelong learning can help strengthen that connection. It’s truly a…
Health Club for Our Minds, Our Bodies, and Our Spirits.

"Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years" can help sort all this out for you. Please join us on Friday, September 17, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. as we explore the concept, benefits, and opportunities of later-life learning. It’s a way to enhance and enrich our After-50 years, making them the very best years of our lives.

As one lifelong learner says, “We base everything on the belief that our capacity to learn and grow does not decrease as our years increase. In fact, through learning and the adventures we embark on, we actually embrace self-fulfillment.”

Life doesn’t get any better than that!

AUTHOR BIO

Nancy Merz Nordstrom, M. Ed., is the author of "Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years," (ISBN # 1591810477), published by Sentient Publications, Boulder, CO.

Learning Later, Living Greater introduces readers to the ideas and benefits of later-life learning. It challenges people to become involved in meaningful new avenues of productivity: learning for the sheer joy of learning something new, educational travel, volunteerism, civic action, and more. It shows them how to stay mentally and spiritually young. Learning Later, Living Greater is the guidebook for transforming the after-work years into a richly satisfying period of personal growth and social involvement.

Nancy also directs the Elderhostel Institute Network for Elderhostel, Inc., North America's largest educational travel organization for older adults. She offers counseling to new start-up programs, provides resources and facilitates communication among 400 Lifelong Learning programs across the U.S. and Canada, and develops links between these programs and similar programs in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. She has also worked closely with developers establishing lifelong learning programs in Japan.

She blogs and writes columns for several online sites that focus on adults over the age of 50. These sites include www.computersavvyseniors.blogspot.com and www.growingbolder.com. She also directs the Lifelong Learning Campus of Computer School for Seniors (www.cs4seniors.com), and maintains a web site at www.learninglater.com that provides information for the general public.

Nancy has been interviewed often by the media about the learning in retirement movement. Articles have appeared in many newspapers and periodicals, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the Washington Post. She was a guest on the CNN Financial News TV Network show "Your Money," and has appeared twice on the Merrimack Valley Cable Access program “The Young at Heart.” She also gives presentations, workshops and courses that focus on the concept, benefits and opportunities of lifelong learning for older adults.

A dedicated lifelong learner, Nancy returned to school after the unexpected death of her first husband, and at age 53, earned a M.Ed. in Adult Education from Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA. As a later-life student she became aware of the opportunities and challenges facing older adults, and has dedicated herself to the belief that lifelong learning is both empowering and life-affirming, regardless of age.