I recently received an inquiry from Donald, who had heard about my book 30 Lessons for Living. It inspired him to write about the
juncture he feels his life has reached. Do you readers have any suggestions for him?
Donald wrote:
In three weeks I will be 88 — however I don’t feel a day over 44.
I am aware that for some time now, I have been repeating yesterday, day after day — so what can I do about the next ten years,- to reverse my attitude — to radically change my direction? I believe I want greater changes in my life.
Many people in their 80s and beyond see it as a time of new beginnings – but how should Donald make this a reality? Advice is welcome from your own experience (if you are in the older years) or from the experience of older people you know who struck out in new directions in later life.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Try taking a moment and ask yourself, “If I were told I had one year to live, what would I do?”. This forces us to think about what’s important to us in life. What if you had 6 months? A week? A day? How would you spend your time? I wouldn’t mind talking to someone like you to see if I could help you. The desire for change is the first step. Discovering what the change will be is the exciting part. Good luck Donald and I hope you find what makes you happy.
Donald, I have similar questions. I am 77 and still working because I can’t think of anything better to do. I look forward to comments from other elders.
I think The Legecy Project’s resident wise elder; Gene has some good advice. http://youtu.be/phrMALkLnak
Here’s to making sure we have at least one exclaimation mark a day!
At 84, my Uncle Woody checked himself into an Alzhimers Facility so he could take care of my mother (is that LOVE??). He never realized what a positive effect he could have on others and had always been a loner.
“Cecilia, watch this” he said and then smiled at a woman next to use and said, “What a pretty sweater!” The women at the table all broke out in smiles and giggles”. All of the women and Uncle Woody were 16 again and just learning to flirt!” His amazement spread when just a “Hello” got the same responce with the men. When he would sit with one of them for a meal, the whole table would lite up.
The marical I observed was that those with Alz. responded so much more to someone their age who took time to laugh with them about the “Old days”!!
The second maricle was that Uncle Woody, who was such a hermit that he never had a phone in his beautiful brick house until he was 80, found that with just a smile, he could bring joy to another person!!
Get the to a local Alzheimers Facility! You will never wake up again not knowing how to make a difference!
I look at life as a slate: Most of us 80 year old seniors need to think in terms of Spirit Measurement. On a ten scale persons might give a measure of themselves and think more in terms of their own sensitivity toward living. I regard myself as a 9 or a ten. I feel healthy and want to extend my life forward. I want my day to day spirit to be as strong as possilbe. I strive for a 9 or a 10 regarding how I feel at the moment. My day to day spirit guides my sensitivity toward life. I rank some of my own attributes as high as possilble. Attitude, Nutrition, motivation, spiritual attitude, physical Health, Mental health, medical exams, dental health, exercise regimine, family connect, and an overall score of a 9 or ten each day.
I keep a score pad on my desk and try to question my inner spirit each day and this keeps the positive ball bouncing in my mind each day. No excuses and I really mean to stay on top of things because my future is at stake. I am a Psychology major and good thoughts keep a person on track. Give it a try.
I’m 75 years old and decided to do something totally new and different. I’ve never made a film before. I decided to make a short form 30 minute documentary interviewing adults now in their late 60s and 70s who were children during WWII. I had worked on the Library of Congress Veterans project. I thought a child’s perspective on what it was like in the war was not only historical but our country needs a huge dose of unity. For the last 2 1/2 years I’ve learned all the social media which is so much fun. I’m shooting for the stars! why not, check out a preview clip of my film, it’s only 10 minutes long. For me the most important thing to keep active, keep having fun, keep connected to your community and to our country. Do something new and challenge yourself. This is what it’s been for me. On my own website http://www.patriciaweaver.net is the clip and lots of articles on aging that are very helpful and funny. The only thing missing in my life now is a companion which would really be fun! I need to find someone who is as active as I am., Keep your heart open to new experiences and check out a number of things you might just love to do.
It ain’t over yet!!! I’m on facebook as well. Please connect with me anyway I might be of help to any of you starting over, or should we say, restarting another wonderful phase of our lives. Best wishes to all, Patricia
I’m only 34 so I don’t speak from MUCH experience, but I remember saying something almost identical when I was in college. I felt like I was seeing every new thing in the same old way like grooves on a record. I moved to China to try and “scratch the record” and boy did it work. Learning Chinese is such a fascinating thing to do- much easier than you’d expect and just different in every way from pretty much everything an English-speaking American knows. I felt like it let me see the same old things in a new way- even now I’ll see something that surprises me and makes me think. Foreign languages are also proven to keep the brain agile and we have so many resources now!
I am more than “one score” (20 years) less than Donald in age but I agree with his attitude that age is not a number, vis-a-vis his comment that he feels 44.
What I have done, and my father and father-in-law before me, is to look into areas of society that need help. OK at 88 Donald may not be the best shovelling shingle or chopping down trees – but his mind is definitely acute so he could use this mental acuity to help out somewhere.
What has is career been involved in, is there an opportunity there. What organisations could use his wisdom and perspective to help solve problems.
It may take some searching, but the searching in itself would be stimulating.
Cheers,
Mike FD