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Wisdom of the Aged

Wisdom of the Aged


I'm trying to keep at these blog posts on a weekly basis. We are still in May, which brings to mind Mother's Day; I have a lot to say about that. And it also brings to mind my 25th wedding anniversary to Doug; and I have a lot to say about that, too. Ah, but I will table those topics for a short while more and perhaps for another venue. Time will tell.

And time is what brings me to this week's topic. As in growing-older-time. Which we all experience. I heard an interview on NPR with a couple who works with the elderly, and I learned that May is American Senior Citizen Month--or something like that.

One major take-away was about how fast our world moves now that we can and do glean instant information and immediate communication from a palm-held device. (I know this is not an original insight, but it's no less true!) The only conclusion one can reach, then, is to slow down enough to listen to the wealth of experience that the aging population can share if only we let them.

The other take-away is how we need to accept the age we are. We live in a world that glorifies the Fountain of Youth. How often do we Americans hear expressions like, "70 is the new 60!" and "I'm too young to be over the hill!" What we need to do instead, say the interviewees, is to accept the age that we are. And we need to replace these anti-aging messages with healthy mantras. 

So let's start here: "The age I am today is the right age for me, right here and right now."

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