Weekly Thought Archives > Older, But Never Old
Older, But Never Old
Fred finished well.
His mental, emotional, and spiritual disciplines overcame physical
immobility. One of his favorite
illustrations was the young man with severe limitations who sat on the front
row as Fred spoke. Afterwards, he said,
"I have disabilities, but they don't have me."
One of Fred's best-loved Leadership Journal articles was
titled, "Older, But Never Old" These
timely and timely principles bear repeating in this excerpted section on the
benefits of aging from this classic piece.
SeniorPathways magazine features one of Fred's articles in
its Kentuckiana Edition Spring/Summer 2012 edition, page 22, Positively Puzzling. For online access, visit http://spm.epubxp.com/issue/66780
Older, But Never Old
When I heard a friend call himself old for the first time he
was seventy-six. I was offended. It's a serious problem when people start
thinking of themselves as old because they've accepted that categorization. It begins feeling like a holding
pattern. They are starting to coast to
the finish line.
Older is a fact, but old is an unhealthy attitude.
I think it is important to look at some of the benefits of
getting older:
1) Selective tension - Older people are usually tense over
important things, not over everything.
As we age we shouldn't lose tension, but should apply it selectively. Getting older means we should be able to
allocate tension to the important instead of the trivial.
2) Clarified values - Who we are influences our happiness
much more than what we have. One concern
is our eagerness to pass on values, but need to do it in a way that is
received. We can't expect younger ones
to accept our values with the same certainty we have gained over a lifetime.
3) Experience -
Experience turns knowledge into wisdom.
Experience, like faith, is a teacher, but faith keeps us from bearing
the scars of willful experiences. Wise
experiences should direct us to the wisdom of "this is the way, walk ye in it.
4) Increased
excitement - As the years get shorter, the excitement of fully utilizing them
can be a great motivator. Just like
reaching the 400 mile
marker while driving the Indianapolis
500, the last 100 are exciting because they are the reason you drove the first
400. Aging is like that.
5) Tested relationships - As we grow older, relationships
mature. We begin laughing about the
things that caused us tears. I used to
tell Mary Alice, "the things we cry about today we'll laugh about
tomorrow." We discover what is important and what is not;
we know which friendships will hold and which ones will always be tentative.
6) Death is part of life - Whatever I have known to now has
been fragmentary and transient. The
great hope of heaven is that I will know the full truth. I think it's important as we go through life
to create thirsts only death can satisfy.
For example, the thirst for truth, for God, for immortality, and
renewing relationships who have gone ahead.
This week carefully consider: 1) Who do I know who is
getting older but not old? 2) What lesssons can I learn about aging? 3) Where
am I showing my age?
Words of Wisdom: "Older is a fact; old is an unhealthy
attitude."
Wisdom from the Word: "The glory of young men is their
strength; and the splendor of old men is gray hair." (Proverbs 20: 29 NET Bible)
