I fear aging... (replies from older members appreciated)

reply to post by EllaMarina



Well , I just turned 35 yesterday on the 23 of march. I have learned very few profound or useful lessons that would benefit another.

One thing I have learned though is that persistence pays. I am what some woukd call hard headed, I never listen, I must always learn all the lessons the hard way, I have gotten good advicenmany times in my life, too bad out of thi usands of times, I only probably listened once or twice.

This isnt a bad thing though, as I have learned these lessons by making the mistakes, I have also learned that somtimes advice is indeed good and worth listening to. Will I listen to anyone else even now having said that? Lol unfortunately I still probably will not.

Just be you, do what you want, dont try to make others happy, you only get the one life, use it to make you happy, let everyone else worry about their personal happiness, it isnt like they cared about yours to begin with.

I learned this lesson the hard way also, I spent many of my first 26 years trying to make others happy, all it ever got me in that time was butthurt and heartache. The day I stopped giving a toss what others want and like, and started caring about what I want and like, is one of the happiest days of my life, and I have had a lot of good days since then.

Besides, making yourself happy is usually one of the ways to make others happy also, nobody wants to be around someone who is unhappy all the time.

reply to post by EllaMarina

I'm just coming up to 30 years older than you, EllaMarina, and you know what? It doesn't matter at all!

If we're blessed with health and we're lucky, then we all get older. Worrying about it at all won't do anything but make you feel older faster.

I recall when my grandfather turned 80 I called him up to wish him happy birthday. (We lived in diferent countries.) He was quite a character and very droll. After our greetings, he said, "You know how they say that smoking takes ten years off your life?"

Grandad had smoked from around age 14 til he quit when he was about 70. So I replied, "Yes, Grandad. I've heard that."

"Well, if smoking takes ten years off your life, then if I hadn't been a smoker, I'd be ninety now!"


Then, when Grandad did in fact have his 90th birthday, I called him up and he said, "You know, there's a very interesting fact: very few people die when they're ninety."

"Really, Grandad? I didn't know that."

"Well you see, it's because very few people live to be ninety!"


I learned a lot from him. He took each day as it came, he never worried -- "If you can do something about it, then do it. If you can't, no point worrying about it, is there?" -- he loved to read and was always learning new things.

He passed away well into his 96th year and the Christmas before, when I went over to visit him for a week or so, he said, "Live goes by so fast, you know. It really does. Hard to believe I've seen ninety-five years come and go." He paused a moment as he looked off into his huge store of memories then he said, "Take every day as a gift and always be glad for it. Every day is special and you'll never see it again once it's gone."


Getting older -- or getting old -- is not about years. It's about how we see our lives and what we see as important in them. For my grandad, the important things were family, friends, and being as happy with life as you can. This philosophy served him well for nearly a century, and I wish you the chance to gain the same experience and blessings as he did.

Mike

my outlook on aging is this... if you are alive then you are younger than your death age...old is when you are in the ground collecting mold and worms.

If you can't stay young, you can at least stay immature.

-Red Green