Flourishing: Grassroots creative engagement for everyday living in later life

Abstract

This commentary focuses on the groundbreaking research on creative aging and its connections with research and theory on creativity contained in Creativity, aging, context and culture: Reimagining creativity in everyday life in older adults authored by Carolyn E. Adams-Price and Linda W. Morse. The authors provide contemporary views of wholistic creative engagement related to aging, context, and culture. Through their research and analysis, we understand the paradigm shift in our consideration of aging from a time of loss to a time of potential through creative expression both large and small. The authors successfully guide us through the many misunderstandings about creativity and the creative process to clarify the importance of creative engagment in later life. This commentary additionally provides an overview of program and policy developments which expanded research into creative aging and its health implications. Both this commentary and article conclude with a call to action for scholars, practitioners and researchers to engage in this emerging interdisciplinary field in order to promote flourishing in later life.