Gratefulness for Aging

Yesterday I received one of those email things from my niece. So, I amended it to make it a little more  personal and sent it back to her.
And, I`d also like to share it with you;
 
 
The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old.
   Truthfully, when you get older, you do not think of yourself as old.   Life is 98% attitude. Old Age is a gift. Much the same as the greatest  gift of all; which is the ability to love yourself and share that love with  others.  Sure,  I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, and   that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks an awful lot like   my grandfather!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving
family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.  As I've aged, I've become
more kind to myself, and less critical. I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating extra cookies, or for buying another book  that I don't really need. I have seen too many dear friends leave this   world before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
 
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if
at the same time, I choose to weep over a lost faculty... I will. As it says   in the Desiderata; 'take kindly the council of the years, gracefully   surrendering the things of youth. Nuture strength of spirit to sheild you  in sudden misfortune.'

I know I am sometimes forgetful; use it or lose it they say. It is important to  keep trying; eventually we remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.   How can your heart not
break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when
your faithful budgie that can speak over a hundred phrases, flies out the patio  door and gets caught in an updraft?  But broken hearts are what teach us   forgiveness and compassion.  Surely, a heart never broken will never know   the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray,
and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my
face.  So many do not take the time to enjoy the little things that make life   worth living and; have died before they reached this realization.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what
other people think.  I can't say I don't question myself anymore but, I  have earned  the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I don't mind being old. It has set me free.  Much like I should have set myself free years ago. Being old allows you   the luxury of knowing that you had the choice all along. I like the person   I have become.  I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here,   I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about   what will be.  It is what it is !!    And, I shall eat dessert first, for life is uncertain.
  
gassho,rj

Thank you, Richard, for this delightful post that celebrates getting older. I could second much of what it says. I think of myself as a young person in a not so young body that has held up pretty well. Afterall, age is a number. Who decides how one is to look, dress and act at a certain age? There is great freedom in not feeling one has to please everyone, but to live each day fully and joyfully.
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

Ditto!
 
I love the adaptation. I don't think of myself as old, but my Granddaughter tells me I am
 
Perhaps in another 20-30 years I might admit it!!!!
 
J

Love is the only way

Zen; that was a great post,I agree with you 100% on all that you wrote,I never could have written that as well as you did.
I worked in nursing homes for many years, I asked a few times which one of these older folks would be me,my boss says generally we are the opposite of what we are as youngsters? I was confused then(?)so when's the fire works of non-confusion begin? A smile is worth all it's weight in gold;I try to always hold on to that thought.

    The closer we come to the truth the closer we come to God; unknown

I hear you. I did fifteen years as a funeral director.  A smile goes a long way but, it's ok to cry.
Remember, energy flows where attention flows.  Keep a positive attitude and the rest is a piece of cake.
 
gassho, rj
 

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

And, I shall eat dessert first, for life is uncertain.

That is an absolutely excellent idea!!!! When I was a little kid, I always ate the icing off the cake first just in case I wasn't hungry enough to eat the cake.

J, I agree, I don't think of myself as old but my body reminds me everytime I sit too long and "Arthur itis" let's me know how quickly he can stiffen up my joints. Although I have been able to discount that by saying I just need to start an exercise program. Oh well, the best intentions.

I was confused then(?)so when's the fire works of non-confusion begin?

China, I am not sure the confusion is ever "supposed" to end. Seems like as long as we continue in our confusion, we are still open to growth and to learning from others.

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Betty,
 
I just love that last sentence of yours. I think the real confusion must be, if we no longer have any interest in learning. That must be a sad place.  J

Love is the only way

Maybe confusion happens when we get old enough to know that we don't know everything.

To truly listen is to perfect one's own virtue.

J and Lori,

I don't know about both of you but, "the older I get, the more I understand how little I know." Being able to "live in" the confusion is not always easy for me, yet it seems the only way to real growth. May we all continue to live the questions in our lives and be open to allowing our worlds to be turned upside down when some clarity of confusion comes that was not what we planned or expected.

May you have a blessed end of the weekend.

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Zenmember, Thank you for your text, which I appreciate very much. It is worth thinking about, and repeatedly. I´d like to add a quotation from one of our famous Austrian writers, Adalbert Stifter, which I love. Characterizing an old woman, he says, "Every wrinkle in her face was (mere) kindness and (mere) generosity". (In German it´s even more poignant: "Jede Falte und jedes Fältchen in ihrem Gesicht war eine Güte und war eine Freundlichkeit"). Let us be grateful for our wrinkles and our white hairs!
 

"Speak Peace in a World of Conflict" (M.B.Rosenberg)

I had a 24 year old today ask me how I cope with the disapproval of others.  I had to stop and think about it.  I remember that when I was her age, I had a LOT of difficulty coping with the disapproval of others.  Somewhere along the way, now in my 40s, I find that I really only care about the approval of people I deeply respect.  And not really that much, at that!    So at least for today, I feel grateful for being older.

To truly listen is to perfect one's own virtue.