Positively Amazing

Noreen Haygood celebrated her birthday at her women’s club where she’s been a member for 20 years. She turned 100. Noreen says that her life philosophy is to try to have a positive effect wherever she goes. In reality, Noreen is positively amazing.

She joined the club to play bridge. However, she also served on the board of directors for a period and also saved the club from financial difficulties as their finance committee director.

Additionally, Noreen can be found playing tennis weekly. At the San Diego Police Department she serves as a volunteer crisis interventionist, arriving on the scene to comfort people in traumatic situations. These, and so many other activities, are things she has taken up in retirement, after moving to La Jolla, California 35 years ago. Noreen is also part of a long-term effort to get young people registered to vote.

Noreen says she likes to be active and social. She also believes that her efforts to have a positive effect have contributed to her longevity. She’s most likely right. The fact is, over a lifespan of a hundred years, centenarians will certainly experience losses. Noreen and her husband Ken have certainly experienced their share, including the loss of a child.

With wisdom, we can start to understand that it’s not the inevitable losses we incur, but our response to them, that makes the difference in our quality of life. With basic values and a sense of meaning in our life, we can ensure that our long lifespan will be put to good use: that it will benefit others and not only ourselves. Noreen is living proof.