The participants in this study are concerned about being mobile and used phrases such as “staying mTOR inhibitor on my feet,” “being up and about,” and “keep going.” These phrases can be interpreted

as metaphors for activity and participation. The participants know that they are “on their last legs,” and see the importance of staying on their feet. Lying down is associated with illness and the difficulty and drama of getting up. The residents battle with diseases and ailments, they know that they are at death’s door, each fall can be fatal, falling down can be their last fall and be synonymous with dying. As mentioned in the introduction, Sarvimäki (2006) promotes an understanding of well-being that unfolds in “the ups and PARP inhibitor downs” of day to day living. Health and life are up, sickness and death are down (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) and when the older persons use orientational metaphors for activity and participation they show their orientation towards the future and see themselves as “still up and running.” These are what Lakoff and Johnson (1980) would call structural metaphors, metaphors that shape perceptions and actions otherwise unnoticed.

Finding meaning and purpose in strenuous activities can encourage activity and participation. Studies have shown the stigma and humiliation of falling and the importance of fall stories in creating a sense of coherence in daily life (Mahler

& Sarvimäki, 2010). aminophylline The participants’ use of metaphors for activity and participation can be indicative of their need to focus on living, not dying; give them a sense of continuity; and allow them to “re-emerge” as resourceful courageous persons. The older person’s stories showed life courage in their continued endurance. Life courage is defined by Pahuus (1995), the Danish philosopher, as an “active energy.” Older persons may wish to withdraw from life, but they also want and need to participate in life and in meaningful activities (Balteskard, Storli, & Martinsen, 2013; Moe, 2013). The older persons spoke of illnesses, balance difficulties, weak body parts, and inadequate safety equipment as extrinsic factors. Isolating the problem as something external seemed to be a helpful strategy in taking control over their lives. Stories told about our lives can make a big difference to how we experience our lives (Roesler, 2006). This strategy seemed to put them in control and promoted their sense of identity and well-being. Creating a necessary distance to a problem is a way of dealing with it; an external factor is a challenge to be overcome (Polkinghorne, 1996). Well-being in safety promotion The deepest experience of well-being is a unity of dwelling and mobility (Galvin & Todres, 2011).