It seems that the older you get the more one is expected to conform to conventional wisdom about age. But what if they are wrong? Who are "they" anyway. As I approach 80 years old I find it hard to "stay down" and cultivate my old age like a garden. At almost 80 there is still a fire down there. As my dad used to say, "There is snow on the rooftop but there is a fire in the furnace."
The more I read and experience, and the more I observe those my age, the more I hear about how everything goes downhill with body and mind when you get this age. And, there is not much use in trying to fight it. It just is. Accept my fate and behave myself and die properly on time.
Why? If I am on a slippery slide to death, what's to lose. Oh, you are old and you could hurt yourself, "they" may say. Goodness, but you can hurt yourself at any age. If all that's left to life is pain, and pills, followed by death, where is the scare in hurting yourself?
And conventional wisdom says don't do too much exercise at your age. Again, you could hurt yourself. But, according to what I have read and experienced, it appears exercise is needed more in older ages, maybe more, than younger age groups. People stop moving as they accept the old age scripts someone else has written for them. They move less and worry more as they watch scare tactic media, reporting every day a new way that the sky is falling.
So, if we are doomed because of old age and doomed because of things going on in the world, why not move more, risk more, create more, be more than you are expected to be. It's not to late for dreams but dreams don't work unless you do.
I want to take the risk to be myself. God give me the strength and keep me in your care. amen.
