Reece Gardner: How to age gracefully
Age is undoubtedly a subject that we hear a lot about, which is understandable since we all experience it. Today, I want to explore this topic with an emphasis on how we might age gracefully. Wisdom, resilience, and a well-rounded and mature perspective on life are often credited as the hard-earned rewards of aging. Looking and feeling good as we age requires a fine-tuned combination of aging gracefully and defying the very laws of time.
As we age, the more it seems time is catching up with us. But it does not have to be this way. Aging with grace and dignity can go beyond resetting the hands of time. We can reset our mindset as well. One of the first things individuals must do as they get older is to learn to live with the changes they will need to make in their lifestyles, and embrace those changes for the better. Accepting life's changes is a significant key to psychological health, since aging changes everyone in varying degrees.
For example, most individuals, as they age, know they will be more tired, have less energy, and move more slowly than they did before. Those who anticipate these life changes and adopt a "Yes, I know this is coming and I know I can manage it" attitude tend to have a more positive and healthier mindset, experience fewer signs of depression, and continue to embrace their golden years. Ultimately, Attitude is the primary secret to aging gracefully. Also, as science has proven, staying active and productive well into the golden years, not only helps an individual look younger, but also keeps them healthy and living life more fully. Learning should be a life-long adventure, because actively engaging the mind in a variety of ways will help the brain not only stay sharp and focused, but also will help the older individual feel young at heart and of mind. We need to look for things to laugh about, such as funny comments by others.
On aging, Red Skelton used to say that the first thing he did upon awakening was to look at the obituary columns, and if he wasn't in there he would get up. General Douglas MacArthur summed up life this way: "Life is not measured simply by a number of years. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your courage, as old as your fear; As young as your hope, as old as your despair. In everyone's heart there is a recording chamber; so long as it receives messages of hope, courage, and faith, so long are you young. But when the wires are all down and the heart is filled with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and then only, are you grown old."
Now for a humorous close: An old farmer in Florida had a large pond by his fruit orchard. One evening he decided to go down to the pond with a five-gallon bucket to pick some fruit. As he neared the pond, he heard female voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer he saw a group of young women skinny-dipping in the pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end of the pond. One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!" The old man thought for a second, and said, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim or to make you get out of the pond naked." Holding the bucket up high, he said, "I'm here to feed the alligator!" Moral: Old men can still think fast! Have a GREAT day!
