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It's never too late ... To examine our belief systems and our thoughts about aging and elderhood. Societal norms tell us that the spice of life is to be found in our youthful years; • That joy and fun is to be had mainly when we are young; • That during our adult years we are to be maximally productive and achieve success by being extremely active and pro-active during most of our waking hours; • That human worth is to be measured principally by the success we have achieved during our adult years; • That it's the end result that counts, not they journey; • That once we are entering our "retirement years" we become less valuable because our contribution to GNP and to Society is declining or coming to a stand-still, eventually becoming a "net-drain" on Society; • That during our later years we are "over the hill", declining, being "worth less"; • That the principal way to preserve our value and meaning comes from how much we do and how busy we are; • That once our physical limitations curtail our doing, we become helpless, and we are less than ... What if we were to begin searching for new and more reality-based answers to our life, believing less what others say, finding out for ourselves. We might just find plenty of examples of people in our stage of life or older who see and manifest our elderhood as a time of great opportunity for transformation and renewal; a time that has the potential for being our best, most satisfying years of our life; a time when we are free to contribute immensely (maybe not so much physically, but more with emotional and spiritual energy); when we can be most creative; a time when our wisdom is at its peak, and our true value is highest by any measure (other than possibly by material "bottom line" standards); a time when we don't have to compete anymore to "be somebody", a time when we are finally free to fully express our ideas, our feelings, our passions; a time when we don't have to "prove" our worth anymore by scrambling to stay "busy", doing, doing, doing. How do we start on this road? First and foremost by being open to welcoming the possibility that we could change our mind and our filters through which we see life; welcoming other information, other opinions, other "realities", looking outside of our box; being open to what history has to teach us. A good book which will open our eyes to new possibilities is one by a medical doctor who specializes in gerontology, William H. Thomas, M.D. by the title "What are Old People For? - How Elders Will Save the World" This article is the first in our new monthly column: "It's Never Too Late ..." Watch for them each month from now on. Hardy Hasenfuss |
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Life - ACT III • 158 Summt View Road, P.O. Box 1619 - New London, NH 03257-1619 Phone: 603.763.9770 • Fax: 603.507.8500 • Email: hardy@lifeact3.com |