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ESSENTIAL INFO
If you purchase a ticket for this course, all the information on this page will be emailed to you with your ticket.
👥 Suitable for: Ages 50 and up
📍 Venue: Bellingen Public School (mobility aid accessible)
📈 Level: Suitable for all skill levels
⏰ Schedule: Mon–Fri, 9am – 4pm (5 Full-Days)
⚠️ Extra info: This course is aimed at adults typically aged 55+, though open to anyone interested in preparing for or navigating later life.
Required skills & experience
No experience required
Supplies that you need to bring to class
Pen
Notebook
Optional - Laptop/charger
Optional - Pencils/crayons/textas if you are more interested in composing drawings and illustrations than writing short stories.
Learning outcomes
Reframe aging as a stage of continued development and possibility
Identify personal values, strengths, and sources of meaning in later life.
Develop strategies to support physical, emotional, and cognitive vitality.
Cultivate resilience in the face of change, loss, and uncertainty.
Strengthen relationships, community engagement and legacy thinking.
COURSE PLAN
DAY ONE
Explore the theme of ageism and how to counteract its impacts
Draw or write a short story about your experience with ageism
Share your creative piece with a small group
Explore the theme of change within values/beliefs and the need for finding authenticity later in life
Draw or write a short story about your experience with a core value/belief shifting
Share your creative piece with a small group
DAY TWO
Explore the theme of a life review and making sense of a lifetime’s experience
Undertake a short life review then draw or write a short story about the common thread to your life’s journey
Share your creative piece with a small group
Explore the theme of life repair and reconciling with past estrangements or woundedness
Draw or write a short story about one repair area that is important to you.
Share your creative piece with a small group
DAY THREE
Explore the theme of eldership contribution versus a leisure focused retirement
Draw or write a short story about your experience with this tension of opposites
Share your creative piece with a small group
Explore the theme of meaning making and undertaking a philosophical or spiritual journey later in life
Draw or write a short story about your experience with this.
Share your creative piece with a small group
DAY FOUR
Explore the theme of late life romantic love and the search for community
Draw or write a short story about your experience with this facet of late life
Share your creative piece with a small group
Explore the theme of shadow work and dissolving negative associations with our wounded parts eg our inner critic, victim, wounded child, workaholic etc.
Draw or write a short story about your experience with an active shadow character in your life
Share your creative piece with a small group
DAY FIVE
Explore the theme of optimising health and navigating illness
Draw or write a short story about your experience with this facet of late life
Share your creative piece with a small group
Explore the theme of death, the final frontier.
Draw or write a short story about your experience with accepting one’s mortality
Share your creative piece with a small group
COURSE TUTOR
Marcus Dabb
Marcus Dabb’s background as a counsellor and workplace trainer underpins his personal development workshop work.
In working with a variety of community groups including the unemployed, entrepreneurs, psychologists, the incarcerated and those struggling with addiction, he has recognised the importance of people needing to finding purpose and resilence.
For the last decade, he has run one on one intensive retreats and group workshops exploring a range of themes including last passages and retaining one’s vigour through different life stages.
Glynn Curran will be working alongside Marcus as the assistant for this course.
“Inspiring, demanding, enlightening, excellent tutorial, out of the box results, great for bonding with new people.”
“I didn’t really know what to expect but it’s definitely been one of the best things I’ve done. Marcus, you have given me such a valuable gift - I feel uplifted because of the “truths” we discovered together and emboldened by your words as I embark on this next stage. I greatly appreciate all that you have given me and your great generosity of spirit.”
“Absolutely wonder-filled! I’ve been challenged and supported and inspired. Marcus is so well read and a pleasure to listen to. The framework given, the gentle and varied suggestions on subject matter and the time to write was invaluable. So much to unpack, thank you Marcus. ”
