That doesn’t mean nothing will ever please you long term; it’s an acknowledgment that there is no magic bullet, no magic key, and no magic anything. Yes, studies show that getting married or becoming a Christian will make you happier, but there’s no one treasure you can have, do, or be that will make you happy and keep you happy over the long term. Most studies even show that the ultimate stroke of good fortune — winning the lottery — only produces a short-term burst of happiness that regresses back to the mean over time for people who have already achieved a minimal level of financial security. Contrary to what I believed when I was young, happiness is a process that has to be maintained over time, not a result of some moment, achievement, or thing...."
My latest surprise came a few days ago, when I got off my knees setting up a Nativity scene under a tree. It looks terrific, but I wrecked my knee and will be seeing the doc next week.
Way to perk this old aching body up this morning. Where’s the reset button?
6) Pain hurts more, lasts longer and more readily indicates real, permenant, physical damage.
(of course, 40 has been in my rear-view mirror for several decades)
I’m in my late fifties. I am slender and fit and I have plenty of energy. This is probably due to the fact that now I eat a very strict, very healthy diet, while in youth I ate crap, like most young people do.
I am AMAZED at how quickly I lose physical condition now.
Cellulite and wrinkles puzzle me, like every other external sign of aging. It feels as though these are some passing glitch that will go away, and I’m going to go back to looking like my 25-year-old daughter. But I’m not. Maybe it’s some kind of Boomer deficit in reality contact—I just can’t grasp the fact that I’m old. The fact that my kids keep desperately telling me I’m not old and I’m never going to die does not contribute to reality.
At this point men come to me for advice about women and tell me how wise I am, but it would never enter anybody’s mind to ask me out. This is not what I wanted or anticipated until I was in my seventies, at least!
I’ve always dressed and groomed myself in a pretty way, wearing feminine clothes, wearing makeup, using moisturizers and conditioner, whitening my teeth, shaving my legs, doing my hair and nails carefully. People always said I was attractive. In the past few weeks I’ve thought about giving all that up and not trying to look nice anymore, just be covered and clean.
I’ve learned that navel-gazing is pointless.
... and don’t forget - young people get really, really stupid when you get older!
I would like to point out that in spite of their comical appearance, hippos are way more dangerous than lions.
Ha! Wait until you turn 60!
Xer Ping
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
I am 72 now and I am thankful for every day.
At 62 I am at the gym every morning at 5:00 and work with a personal trainer one and sometimes two mornings every week. He busts my butt, but it is worth every minute of it. I have shed 55 lbs and my “numbers” are all where they should be for someone in his 20’s. BP is 115/65, pulse at rest is 61, cholesterol is 145, blood sugar is 95. I do have arthritis in my left knee, but I don’t run 20K races anymore, I work out with 44 lb kettle bells and 25 lb medicine balls.
I am 48 and set to retire from the military in a few months. I have five kids and five grandchildren. I can still outrun all of them (but it hurts more to do so). After 20+ years of going strong in the military I can tell my body has been beaten down some (I now go to physical therapy twice a week) and takes longer to recover.
One thing I’ve learned is that although I had way more energy, both mental and physical back in the day, a great deal was wasted due to a lack of experience of applying it. You simply are not as good at connecting the dots at 20 as you are at 40, nor cutting out unnecessary and inefficient steps.
I’ve also found that many things I held dear at 20 were delusional and unproductive. Bottom line is, the best use of your youth is to do so maturely and productively, and not be not overly self-enamoured of the fact that you are young. The earlier you start learning and building, the better life will be from there to the years ahead.
Resiliency
If youth only knew
And age only could...
I’m 51, I’m too heavy but I’ve been heavy all my life, in a wrestler/defensive guard sort of way. One good thing is that I got involved in martial arts in the late 70’s and my flexibility has stayed very good ever since, no chronic illnesses, no aches or pains. I also went the route of hardening my hands and still pound the makiwara on occaison, it never led to arthritis as some said it would.
Another blessing was that after 9-11 I got a wild hair and decided to boycott gasoline and walk everywhere...it became a habit and I still walk everywhere. Today I needed some bread and a 5mi walk to get it was a nice way to start the day.
In most regards I’d say I’m as healthy as ever, the only difference now is that if I don’t exercise I feel things go downhill more rapidly. I don’t lift weights anymore, but I do more dynamic tension type exercises similar to what they call sanchin, plus I do get out in some manual labor jobs on occaison, somehow I’m recommended when there’s heavy lifting to be done. I have a small underground biz that pays my bills, but a few days of manual labor from time to time seems like getting paid to go to the gym.
My mom is 80 and she was always an iron sergeant, now in the last year she’s gone downhill quick. She’s very depressed and frightened by it, and it was a shock to all of us, becsuse she’s always been so indestructible.
So, I’m hoping that daily walking and activity plus some of the chinese exercises keep me at a high state of preservation for the long run...because there’s no one to take care of me but me.