I woke up this morning with a real sense of 'being'. Oh, I wake up every morning so happy to just wake up!! But, as I looked at the sunrise this morning, I realized just how blessed I am to witness such a beautiful new day.
So that got me to thinking about growing old and how it affected me. I picked up a book my son had sent me that I truly love. It was written by Karl Pillemer and is titled "30 Lessons for Living.... Tried and True Advice from the wisest Americans".
That "wisest Americans" means us... the older generation, the one who has lived through it all!!
And, yes, we are wise. We are the youngest children of the Great Depression and believe me if you lived through that, you have lived 'it all'.
When we are gone, where will the younger generation go to recover the lessons learned in that difficult time, the wisdom of how people survived and learned to thrive?
In his book, Pillmer recommends that we DON"T WASTE OUR TIME WORRYING ABOUT GETTING OLD. Because it is wasted. Use that time to set about a plan to grow old with as much gusto for living that you can.
Many experts describe later life as a time of serenity, a sense of calm and an easiness in their daily life and I have found that to be true. I find that things that were important to me are no longer important (and I wonder why the heck did I waste my time on them). I've given up trying to fix everybody else's problems and concentrate on exploring a new land. You know, in Ulysses, the poem by Tennyson he says, 'Come, my friends, Tis not too late to seek a newer world'. and so it is not.
Seek that newer world of aging gracefully, of exploring new ideas, trying out new hobbies, of just relaxing and enjoying life. It's our time!
The book is really good. I hope you will read it if you get a chance.
So that got me to thinking about growing old and how it affected me. I picked up a book my son had sent me that I truly love. It was written by Karl Pillemer and is titled "30 Lessons for Living.... Tried and True Advice from the wisest Americans".
That "wisest Americans" means us... the older generation, the one who has lived through it all!!
And, yes, we are wise. We are the youngest children of the Great Depression and believe me if you lived through that, you have lived 'it all'.
(me with my grandparents in 1940)
When we are gone, where will the younger generation go to recover the lessons learned in that difficult time, the wisdom of how people survived and learned to thrive?
In his book, Pillmer recommends that we DON"T WASTE OUR TIME WORRYING ABOUT GETTING OLD. Because it is wasted. Use that time to set about a plan to grow old with as much gusto for living that you can.
Many experts describe later life as a time of serenity, a sense of calm and an easiness in their daily life and I have found that to be true. I find that things that were important to me are no longer important (and I wonder why the heck did I waste my time on them). I've given up trying to fix everybody else's problems and concentrate on exploring a new land. You know, in Ulysses, the poem by Tennyson he says, 'Come, my friends, Tis not too late to seek a newer world'. and so it is not.
Seek that newer world of aging gracefully, of exploring new ideas, trying out new hobbies, of just relaxing and enjoying life. It's our time!
The book is really good. I hope you will read it if you get a chance.
The book sounds like it has some very good advice.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Latane! The book sounds great too! You are an inspiration on living life to the fullest!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post Latane. Thank you! The book sounds wonderful too. I will put it on my list.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a great day,
Denise
New blog addy :
http://anenglishgirlrambles2016.blogspot.com
Thinking some of your same thoughts this morning! ♥
ReplyDeleteReally love this book recommendation. Sounds like the writer is very wise! It's so true that we should be ready for each new adventure! Awesome post, Mom!
ReplyDeleteBTW great sunrise photo...we had a beautiful one the other day also that I photographed too! And that photo of you with Ma & Pa! So awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteA valuable review! It sounds good. And what a beautiful sunrise...
ReplyDeleteVery wise. xx
ReplyDeleteI Will add that one to my list. Beautiful picture.
ReplyDeleteWow what a sunrise!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post Latane - much of it made me pause and think seriously about this 'getting old' stuff which we all face eventually. I like the idea of 'not wasting time worrying about getting old', something we used to do, but have come to terms with this past year. We plan to continue living in the moment more - fortunately Bob is a very positive person, moreso than me even! Physically we know we are aging but accepting it all as a part of life, and of course are thankful we are still here and able to do a lot of exciting things along with the daily grind!
ReplyDeleteSo the best to you - I love your positive attitude and all you share here with us.
Hugs - Mary
Lovely sunrise shot! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this book.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful sunrise! I will have to look for this book, it sounds like one I could use right now as I approach my 70th year in a couple of months. Thanks, Latane, for telling us about it!
ReplyDelete