My wife and I attended an art retreat recently. At age 63, it had been 50 years since my last encounter with watercolors.
What was intriguing to me as a student of aging was that four out of five attendees topped 50 years of age – second halfers. It appears that the human spirit has some in-bred need to plumb the distant corners of our existence, and the second half of life affords us these opportunities.
In his book, The Creative Age, Dr. Gene Cohen observes that after years of study, four aspects of creativity stand out:
Creativity strengthens our morale in later life, allowing us to view life with fresh perspectives.
Creativity contributes to physical health and research is clear that expressing our creativity triggers our immune system.
Creativity enriches relationships. Second-halfers who model creative behavior to friends and especially to their adult children, create new bonds of hope, ideas and conversations.
Finally, creativity has distinguished elders as “keepers” of the culture, those who pass the values and stories of family and community on to the next generation. In my father’s last 10 years, he took up stained-glass making and wood-carving — a surprise to us all.
One of the aspects I liked best about watercolor painting was its ability to absolutely and totally capture me. When I was painting, I simply could not think about anything else. Painting turned out to be mentally exhausting, but freeing and ultimately relaxing.
Another surprising bonus is its ability to sharpen one’s eyes. We discover yellows, oranges, purples and reds in something we had previously only seen as blue.
No matter whether one’s creativity leans toward music, or dance, or the graphics arts, or writing, or acting, it really does not matter if we’ve ever done it before. When it comes to making us feel good, creativity is a secret to enhanced 2H living.
In the words of writer George Eliot, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
Bill Morton has a Certificate in Gerontoly from the UW and is the author of “2H: The Official Second Half Handbook.” He’s lived on the Eastside for 20 years.
