Thoughts of death are more frequent in our seventies, and the number of years ahead of us are fewer. We are paying more attention to what we do before we die, and how we want to be remembered. We recall the division of material goods from our parents and how much we should involve our children in the task of divestment of goods. We discuss creative ways to leave a legacy.

We also discuss death based on cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker's book "The Denial of Death". The book suggests that we live in subconscious fear of our own non-existence and so search for scientific, religious and cultural responses to this fear.

The subject of death is not part of our everyday conversations, until it hits us personally. We hope it becomes easier by opening the conversation.

Spirituality can take on deeper significance in later life, becoming a vital source of meaning, comfort and resilience. It can be a very broad topic, taking in many different religious and meditative traditions. But what does it mean for us? We reflect on our lives, relationships with our families and the broader community, connecting to something outside ourselves and finding peaceful spaces. We explore how spirituality can become a search for ways to make sense of our lives and our world. We talk about activism and how taking a stand on an issue can bring spiritual moments. Spirituality can be a quest for answers to the big questions of life and when we ask those questions, we need to be ready for what we might find, or not. We end by talking about accepting the mystery of life and not settling into a comfortable life.

Food is essential to life, and we thought it was important to talk about our relationship to food now. We found ourselves remembering big family gatherings for harvest or holidays, and the wonderful food we enjoyed in our Canadian, German, English and Scandinavian traditions. We explore where some of our attitudes towards food came from and how that has shaped our eating habits today. We also discuss how our eating habits have changed as we've gotten older, impacted by health conditions, a desire to eat healthier, and through the influence of other cultures.

We converse about who takes responsibility for food preparation, food decisions and how food choices have changed since 50's. Our last thoughts were toward food security and the importance of paying attention to those who do not have enough food.

We explore nurturing - social, physical, spiritual, cognitive, emotional and familial - as we move through the space between independence and vulnerability. Once taken-for-granted routines like driving or medical checkups now demand personal advocacy and initiative. Nurturing takes effort - and raises the question, "Are we enough?".

We also reflect on how aging is shared with our children and grandchildren, and how mutual care can be renegotiated. Finally, we ask: How do we nurture ourselves as we age?

Finding ourselves suddenly older can be startling. People tend to respond to us in a different way, and we see ourselves differently. We thought we had more time to think about our future. Now it is here!

We begin the conversation with the emerging political climate and how false news, climate change denial and other challenging issues evident today affect our outlook and our future. What sort of planning for the future or hope do we see for the future?

In the previous podcast we got a bit sidetracked in our conversation about coping with fear and anxiety. We decided to continue with that topic.

When we are faced with threats, what is our "fight or flight" response? And what about a "tend and befriend" response? What are the things that may create fear and anxiety for older people? What causes fear and anxiety for us? We explore these questions and share the ways that we deal with our own fear and anxiety. Imagination, resilience, creativity, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, joyfulness and empathy all enter the conversation.

A conversation that started out as 'how do we cope with fear and anxiety', became an exploration of who we are now as we are growing older. We talk about how we alleviate stress in our daily lives. We share some to eh past experiences that have shaped our current strategies, including silent retreats, forest bathing, and learning how to just 'be'. But the question question of who we are now, since we are no longer working, is prominent in the discussion

A meaningful conversation about the struggle to find and maintain the things that sustain us and bring meaning to our lives as we age. With honesty and humour, the Seniors in the Building podcast members talk about family, advocacy, spirituality, sports and gratitude, among other things as they reflect on what has changed over time and what brings hope and joy to them today.