Age Looks Good In Motion!

“Joy doesn’t belong to youth. It belongs to anyone willing to feel it.”

Did you know that how you think about growing older determines how you will age mentally and physically and can enhance or detract from resilience and regeneration?

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“A new study by scientists at Yale University suggests that older individuals can and do ‘improve,’ in all the senses of that word, over time. Lead author Dr. Becca R. Levy, PhD, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) found that nearly half of adults aged 65 and older showed measurable improvement in cognitive function, physical function, or both, over time.

The improvements were not limited to a small group of exceptional individuals and, notably, were linked to a powerful but often overlooked factor: how people think about aging itself.

Analyzing the results of a large study of older Americans that ran for a decade, (11,000 participants) a key data point was that the individual’s mindset toward aging plays a major part in their success.

If they believed aging was a process of decline, they declined. If they believed aging was a process of refinement, they improved.

Our findings suggest there is often a reserve capacity for improvement in later life,” she said. “And because age beliefs are modifiable, this opens the door to interventions at both the individual and societal level.”

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When I started Wildly Free Elder in 2021 what moved me to create the website were the narrow cultural standards and beliefs here in the U.S. around aging and living as an elder in our society. I saw that those standards could be a self fulfilling prophecy as long as one bought into the idea of an inevitable decline and invisibility.

Feeling this time of life as having immense potential for freedom and expressing our wildest and most creative loving selves, challenges and all, WildlyFreeElder was birthed.

We are in fact light beings (in our cells) which is documented scientifically. Animals see and sense this and are always drawn to the presence of a being who radiates their own unique version…and doesn’t shut it down. As sensitive humans we also feel this and are attracted to it as well. As we age our light can become stronger and clearer. It does not diminish. It expands.

“Look at you. Not a footnote. Not a throwback. Not a “once upon a time”. Look at the way your shadow dances. Look at the way your colors rhyme. If they want to know what beauty is tell them. It is the courage to arrive exactly as you are. And still be the brightest thing alive.”

As we move and open body, mind, and heart so does our light. The absolute joy of movement has always been part of my life in so many different forms including ecstatic free form improvisational dance and movement for many years and partnering with the dance of the natural world around and within us.

Just this morning on a walk through a close by nature park I spied a yoga class with everyone moving their arms like wings of butterflies or birds and I couldn’t help but join in. As the teacher turned around to see me “flapping my wings” as I walked by the class she said we were celebrating the full moon and the joy of being alive! Most of the class were elders…..

“Every day you play with the light of the universe” ~Pablo Neruda

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I am one of those people who are not using AI or even exploring it though I know it can be used for good in certain domains. I won’t go into all the reasons why, but whenever I stonewall against something I receive the inner message that I should open a bit. The video below took me by surprise. When reading what the “AI artist” went through to create this video I have to say I was greatly impressed. Perhaps this can be just another medium like painting or sculpting using the humans capacity for creation partnered instead with AI.

**I encourage you to watch this and bet you can’t help but smile, be in awe at the costuming, and/or get up to move!

ABOUT THIS VIDEO: “One of my favorite parts of making these films is reading your comments. No matter where you live, we somehow keep meeting in the same place – somewhere between music, memory, and imagination. For this episode, I wanted to create something joyful. I combined surreal fashion, dance, and two original songs that stayed with me long after I finished writing them. In fact, I wrote three songs for this project, but only used two. The third is waiting quietly for another day.

This film took longer than most. I spent countless hours adjusting light, movement, and camera angles because I wanted the dancers to glow from within. I wanted every face, every wrinkle, every flowing piece of fabric to feel alive. One morning while working on the music, I started dancing around my kitchen with my two dogs. They immediately joined in. Watching them bounce around the room reminded me of something simple: Joy doesn’t belong to youth. It belongs to anyone willing to feel it. This film is for everyone who has lived a little, loved a lot, and still believes there is something beautiful ahead.

Thank you for being here. I hope these songs, these dancers, and this strange little world bring a smile to your day. — This surreal AI music video is a celebration of ageless beauty – older dancers wearing massive avant-garde couture, bold earthy colors, and warm golden light, moving to a slow, hypnotic, ritual-inspired groove. Every frame was designed to celebrate movement, individuality, and the beauty of a life fully lived. Whether you see it as senior fashion, digital haute couture, or a cinematic 4K dance film, the heart of it is purely human: the joy of movement, the pride of our stories, and the simple beauty of being seen exactly as you are.

🎵 Music in This Video (Original Songs) 00:00 – We Wear the Night Well 03:48 – We Are The Late Light 08:31 – Thanks For Watching. Both songs are original, written from my own lyrics and musical direction – slow, hypnotic, and deeply empowering, created to honor lived experience and the quiet power of still feeling alive in your own skin. 🎬

How This Film Was Made (Original Work, AI-Assisted) This film is an original creation, made entirely by me using AI as a creative tool”. https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/surrealai

* Special thanks to Siobhan for passing this video on to me!

** This video is dedicated to Jane Sheppard, long time beloved friend, on her birthday coming up on 7/11!

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Thank You for being a subscriber to Wildly Free Elder posts – or finding your way here through synchronicity! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, reflections and wild creative endeavors to inspire others. Gaye Abbott (click here)**

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Gaye Abbott, Wildly Free Elder, 07/01/2026