Aging: Better With Time

One thing I have come to realize in my 55 years is that most people who age and actually become old and wise tend to be “KNOWERS”. They just know! It is amazing to talk with them. True elders are pragmatic, humble, grateful, funny and oh so kind.

I have seen that elders are flexible and adaptable. I now believe that the older you get, the more life you see and the more experience you have with the ups and downs of being alive, the more you have to offer. You have witnessed tragedy and the subsequent recovery and movement forward into life that always follows. Elders have experienced grief and bliss, often in the same day. As a senior in our society, they have survived the loss of family and friends via moves, fights and death that are permanent.. They KNOW that life keeps moving, and you either move with it or get buried - the choice is yours.

I have a dear friend, Cindy Zimmerman ,who is so wise. We went to dinner, and she was explaining to me that in menopause she had quite literally became invisible when interacting with others. As she was explaining this, a young waiter came to greet us and spoke only to me, with little eye contact or interaction with her. We both laughed, and I jokingly told her it was only because I was so overwhelmingly beautiful. Ten years later when I had disappeared with menopause, I called her and we both laughed again. I quickly asked her if she has become visible again in our society? She said only to her dear friends.

So, I hope to live to be old and appreciated by friends and family. Until then I will surround myself with older people and learn about their resilience in order to develop my own KNOWING!

And this is what I do know….

Continue to surround yourself with older people, even the quiet ones! They are knowledgeable about life beyond education. They love and appreciate easily, are less judgmental than most, and haves much to teach us. Maybe just by being present with them, some of their KNOWING will rub off! Now what exactly is the age that brings on the KNOWING? Come back again….