The Unbearable Lightness of Growing Old

I'm reminded of the quote that: "You know you're getting old when the only thing you can sink your teeth into is a glass of water."

It's inevitable, no one's getting younger and age tends to sneak up on us as we go about our daily business. Before you know it you're 50 and you haven't got a clue how you got there except for the lines on your wife's face.

The trick is to meet it gracefully by learning how to do it BEFORE your retirement years. That's not easy. To have a cheery outlook on life isn't easy to do in a world that projects a lot of gloom and doom. A cheerful outlook does go a long way to maintain your health and vitality well past retirement.

Old age doesn't mean that a stint at a nursery home is in the cards for you. I take a cue from my mother who is now a grand 85 and lives in her own home, cooks, cleans, shops and generally keeps herself active by caring for her mongoloid daughter and cat. No surprise that you can't find her in a retirement home. Mt grandfather (my mother's father) was the same. He worked the books for a business he started in the mornings and gardened most afternoons until the day heatstroke took him away.

Old age is always acquainted with death, but it doesn't have to be. Like gramps and mom, you don't need to run a thesis on your impending death in your mind. The world is bad news enough for you to add worry and depression to it.

So what should you do to soften the inevitable? Here are a few hints:

1. A positive mindset won't help you pay the bills. But it will help remind you that throughout the hundreds of years of man's existence and the millions who have died since the birth of creation, there hasn't been anyone who's been able to extend life beyond his allotted time. So why waste a whole lot of effort through worry and fear? Know that your next door neighbor, whether you like him or not, is sinking in his own boat. Smile. Laugh. Watch funny videos. Lighten up! 

2. Take time to reflect. That's a good idea though most of us delay that until we're lying on our death bed. Reflect on your accomplishments. Plan ahead to the things you'd like to do in the future regardless of the months or years you may have left.

3. Experience the joy of just being. I remember seeing the movie "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and it has a good message. No matter what your circumstances and no matter what bad  happens to you, you can still experience peacefulness in a world wind of fear. The 23rd Psalm in the Bible reflects this thought perfectly.

4. Experience the joy of friendship. Companionship is important, not only to share the happy moments but it does you good to have a shoulder to cry on or get a lift (other than to the cemetery) when you need one. Project love and compassion. Be a light for others. You won't have a statue erected in your honor, but you will be remembered.

5. Activity. It's been mentioned before. Do something you love. Garden. Go bicycling. Cook a fiesta for all your relatives including the great grandkids. Whatever you do put your heart into it. My grandpa loved gardening and that's where he died. So you have diabetes and arthritis? So do millions of others. But don't let that stand in the way of getting active.  It helps you forget about the pain temporarily.

6. Volunteer. Help someone who is less fortunate. I've had the chance to see how people live in the nursery home where my father spent his last year from Alzheimer's. It wasn't pretty to watch those old folks watch themselves die. If you still can walk, though a lot slower, there is someone out there whose suffering can be alleviated. That could be a relative or your neighbor who needs someone bail out water from his boat. Doing something for someone else without asking a fee is as good as getting active. You're a lot better off than hundreds of others including those who haven't enough to eat or live under the rule of a dictator somewhere in the world.

There you have it. Just six tips. Far better than dwelling on your poor circumstance or drowning your sorrows in a bottle of whiskey. Growing old does not equal death.