Hi. I want to address a very difficult topic, because it is something I am going through right now in my life, and it is painful, both mentally and physically. AGING. Now, I fall right in the middle of what was termed the "baby boomer" generation. 'Baby boomers' are people who were born in a period of time from the mid-fifties to probably the mid to late sixties; a time after WWII, when many people were eager to settle down and start a family. Well anyways, now, the children that were made during that time, have grown older, and many, or most of us are now aging.
Aging is difficult. I am now in my late 50s, and I feel like at one point in my recent years an iron gate was shut and bolted, and the privileges of being young and pretty and innocent have been shut away from me. Now that I am going to be 60 in two years, I have threatening health problems and there are things I can no longer do. In addition to this, my mother has passed away, and my Dad has lost some of the mental and physical strength he enjoyed most of his life. All of this makes aging very difficult indeed.
But we are going to talk about how we can make aging a more positive experience. One thing I've noticed helps me is humor, and being able to laugh at myself. For instance, I saw a picture that said, " I'm not old. I'm 25 plus shipping and handling" ☺. Also, good friends help. Having people who love me and who respect me. And I'm really glad I've been up front about my disability and the type of housing I'm in, because had I tried to conceal these things, and then this aging experience kicked in, my life would have toppled down like a house of cards.
Then too, as I listened to my musical selection for this blog, Amy Grant's 1974, I noticed that there are attitudes I could adopt that would make my life happier. 1974, is a song about how totally enthralled Amy Grant was with Jesus Christ when she first discovered that he loved her deeply and unconditionally. During this time in her life, God, and serving Him, meant everything to her. I'm quite sure that if I were to fall in love with Jesus all over again, and stop feeling sorry for myself because certain things have not worked out right (yet), I would be a much happier person.
Here in this nursing home, the people I spend most of my time with are kind of fanatical about measurements. Blood pressure, pulse, temperature, respirations. But I do not have to let all these measurements dictate to me who I am. I can refuse to look at myself in this limited way, and embrace the me who is a blessed servant of God, someone who God loves and cherishes.
We can partner with ourselves against the thought that the negative things about aging define us. Let us become loyal friends to the souls within us. So loyal that we don't want to bother our minds with any thoughts that could weaken us. We can create our own iron gate. A gate that shuts away from us all the thoughts that make us feel sad and gloomy. We can break away from worry and see ourselves as wondrous human beings, full of life and potential.
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