Linda Manwarren | ARTA Wellness Committee Member

During our teaching careers , our world was frequently directed through opportunities for learning . I know many retired teachers whose lives remain committed to the principle of lifelong learning . There is extensive research indicating the many positive benefits of learning as a regular aspect of our lives . A study recently published in the Journals of Gerontology , Series B : Psychological Sciences , involved 58- to 86-yearolds who simultaneously took three to five classes for three months . The classes included drawing or painting , speaking Spanish , learning to use an iPad , photography , and music composition . The researchers at California University found learning new skills can improve brain power at the same time . A 2015 article in Psychology Today by Cathy Malchiode reviewed current research on the benefits of exploring and engaging in creative endeavours . She concluded that “ your authentic expression through art making , music , song , movement , writing , and other forms of art-based imagination ” is a valuable component in wellness practice . Creative endeavours such as movement , performing , creating art , writing , inventing recipes , or trying something new all aided the maintenance of mental flexibility .

So , I say thank you to COVID-19 , for it led me on a personal journey of learning and creativity . The journey began shortly before the first shutdown , with a supposedly ten-week series of ukulele lessons for beginners . We had learned the national numbering system and how to use it to change keys , two chords , and to name the four strings on the ukulele . The group continued , during the first few weeks of the shutdown , to practice the chords we had learned and to build finger flexibility and strength as well as the mental flexibility of where to put the fingers . It quickly became evident , however , that the group needed each other as well as the instructor to make any real progress . We decided to postpone our further learning

for a while . As you know , the “ while ” was steadily extended . But weather was on our side and eventually we concluded the series in a park , safely distant . Have You Seen the Rain , Happy Birthday , Hallelujah , and Let It Be were favourites . Being able to create the chords easily from memory and through several songs continues to be a challenge for me , but the sound of the ukulele is a happy one and always makes me smile .

For a few years , I have been a member of a recreational choir . Of course , those weekly rehearsals had to change , and change they did ! Like so many organizations , meeting on Zoom became our modus operandi . Very strange it was , to be singing by myself in the basement while

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