“Nothing happens to me anymore …
that’s the reality of getting old.”
It doesn’t have to happen that way. “Getting old” … at age 55, 65, even 85 … doesn’t have to be the end of your real life, but instead can be the beginning of interesting, even exciting new chapters in the life you have left.
Many studies have shown that by keeping active at any age, not just physically but also mentally, by accepting opportunities, responsibilities and challenges every day of your life, you can indeed keep younger in spirit, vital and alive, eager to face another day, every day.
Look around you. Walk down your street. Read your local paper. An invalid neighbor might need a little help. Local square dance groups need another partner. Social service agencies need volunteers of any age. Little children need someone to read to them, to help them spell. Old folks need someone to sit and listen to their stories. You can fill any one of these needs.
There are also paying positions out there just waiting for you; stores and companies need older workers who are dependable, experienced, willing to fill-in part time or full time.
Want to learn a new career? Ready to become a painter, a sculptor, a medical care worker? Community colleges are gearing up to bring retired folks back into meaningful hobbies and professional second careers.
Become a student again. Relive your earlier productive life by creating a new life for yourself, by finding new friends who are interested in you and what you’re doing, and learn to enjoy the thrill of new responsibilities and new horizons.
Being old is only numbers. Being alive to new challenges, new pleasures and new friends is who you can become right now. Make something wonderful happen for you today … for your sake and for all of those who need your help, your experience, your creativity, the valuable, unique person you were yesterday and still are today.
