Are you still curious about the world around you? You may feel that you have been there, done that, and that nothing surprises you anymore, but you could be wrong.
Unfortunately inertia is rampant, and it keeps a good many seniors stuck in the past. Experience counts but it isn’t everything. There are still places to go and so many things to learn.
How much time did you/do you spend looking for answers? Age is no excuse, even a child knows that. It is why they keep asking all of those pesky questions. Why this? Why that? Why? Why? Why? Drove you crazy, didn’t it? Hopefully they won’t, as you didn’t, accept that all too familiar phrase “because I said so.”
It wasn’t the right answer then, and it isn’t the right answer now. The answers to most questions are out there, but you have to be curious enough to hunt for them. Do a little research and give your grands, as well as yourselves, a real, age appropriate, answer.
Look for those answers together. It will be fun and it will spark even more questions. Besides, they will think you are the smartest person in the world.
It is never too late to learn something new, and to prove to yourself that curiosity never dies. One of the misguided stereotypical beliefs about aging is that curiosity dies, but studies indicate that this is not true. Curiosity, researchers say, remains the same throughout a person’s lifetime, and older adults who remain curious tend to live longer than those who do not, which is reason enough.
Take a few minutes to think, to appreciate, and jump at the chance to seek new experiences. Ask questions. There is no such thing as a dumb question, and you should never fear that you will sound ignorant if you ask why or how. We spend way too much time worrying about what someone else thinks about us instead of being intellectually curious.
Start small. Join a book club, learn a new language, take up gardening, ask questions. Nobody knows everything, and you shouldn’t have to pretend that you do.
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