You know that you are going to get old, don’t you? Look around you. Old age happens. Friends, relatives, acquaintances and the weird little old man/woman who lives down the block from you are all ageing right in front of your eyes. Still, you never think it is going to happen to you.
Old age happens. You will not be ready. You will never be ready. The signs are subtle at first, but they are portents of things to come. If your mantra has always been “no pain no gain,” the day will come when pain is more of a constant than gain.
You have always been able to fix little problems by running faster, working out harder, eating, not eating, coloring your hair, or trying a new skin care product, but what do you do when all that stops working?
The signs of wear are insidious. The body compensates for as long as it can, but there is a limit to what it can do on its own. You will have to give some serious thought to a change in your lifestyle.
It’s quite horrifying. “Old age” will never be welcomed, unless you think that retiring and leaving the rat race is good enough. It’s not. The glow of daily golf games wears off in a hurry.
You can’t buy a new body, but you can work to maintain the one you have. It won’t be easy. Aches and pains, fatigue, decreased appetite, shortness of breath, erratic heart beats and unsteady feet. I could go on and on, but I won’t. Stop looking in the mirror and start thinking about important things, like making the rest of your life count for something. Eat, exercise, take your health seriously, and do something meaningful.
You are officially old. It doesn’t mean that you can’t stand tall, or as tall as you are able, and be mindful of who you are. Being cranky and out of sorts most of the time is not a good look for you. It isn’t the hearing aids, glasses, cane, or white hair that screams “old”, but your lack of purpose.
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