Meaning Isn't Tied to Money!

"The second journey of life is the time when we no longer have to focus on survival but on the search for meaning," says Dick Goldberg. Goldberg who is the Director of the National Office of Coming of Age was the keynote speaker for the Newark Senior Center's Life Options Conference. Now in its seventh year, the annual conference kicked off on September 17th with a forum on brain health with Dr. Ina Li of Christiana Care Health System as the speaker. On the following day, there was Goldberg's keynote address, workshops and vendors all focusing on the theme of "Living on a Shoestring," an acknowledgement of the current economic hard times.

Here is more of what Dick Goldberg has to say about people 50+, our search for meaning and the challenge of ageism:

• People 50+ represent the largest demographic wave to hit America in the last century.
• As Mary Oliver puts it, aging asks the question "what will you do with your one, wild and precious life?"
• Ageism is one of the most entrenched and tolerated forms of prejudice in our culture today.
• Combating ageism should be moved to the top of the 50+ agenda.
• Where do we define anything in terms of deficiency only?
• To the extent that people 50+ deny their aging they promote ageism.
• You've heard that 60 is the new 40? I say 70 is the new 69!