Growing Old

There is no such thing. You do not Grow, you Un-grow. It starts with your teeth at any age and just keeps going. I have never seen anything that grows old. Aging is not growing. So lets start over. Aging until you are dead. Now I dont want to write a gloomy article here but that is exactly what happens. If you have good health until you die, aging is not too bad for a long time but the closer that last breath comes the more you think about it. I suspect most of the aged come to terms with dying and hope it happens in their sleep. You have had your fun or your misery. Life is going on outside your window but you have to drop out. We old folks have a saying, Growing old is not for sissies. Now I cannot speak for the rich. I am not rich but I was at one time. The old car I drive now is as comfortable as my Oldsmobile 98 was. The food is what I make it. The air is the same. So maybe the rich get to do more and have more laughs. But I sort of have my doubts. I personally enjoy life just as much as if I were on a beach somewhere. I dont realize I am 73 and act and feel like 40. I have what I call The Right Mental Attitude which I have always had from birth. Some folks do not have that and need to work on positive thinking. I dont have a quarterbacks body so I have to work on that, and yes I am a bit behind.

There are two rules. Have a good head. If your head is not right the whole thing sucks. Have as good a body as you can make it. Most of us have a choice about both. Of course when I say head I mean the real you inside that head. You dont have to have any special kind of mind to have the Right Mental Attitude. And mostly, if you keep your hands from stuffing that hole under your nose you can have a good body. I wont mention smoking. That is suicide and I am not qualified to help people with a bad death wish. I mean bad death. The two rules about quality aging are:

1.Right Mental Attitude. I could write a page about that but you know exactly what I mean.

2.Take Care Of Yourself. Thats pretty easy to understand. Those are the two rules for aging until you die, as nicely as possible.

There is one rule for aging miserably and dying poorly. That rule is, Dont pay any attention to the first 2 rules.

When the body breaks down and when you are sick that is the hard part of aging. You folks reading this who are not old do not want to be old and sick. That is hell on earth. So get right in your mind now and start tomorrow to age well. If you get nothing else out of this article, remember this, you are not a military tank. You are an ordinary vehicle made to haul your brain around. Inside that brain is the pilot. You are the pilot. If you let your vehicle set in one spot the thing starts to rot. If you let it do what it does naturally every day, taking care of it with good maintenance and fuel it will pass many junk vehicles along the side of lifes road that had stupid Pilots. Pilots that let their vehicle smoke. Pilots that paid no attention to nutrition. Pilots that made the vehicle lazy and parked it all the time. Pilots who thought of self only and did not enjoy the wondrous feeling of helping others.

Just a little neglect here and a little neglect there and your vehicle will rust out and you will be a cripple. Start by helping others. That alone will add years to your life because it is the right mental attitude. The rest will follow. Trust me on this. I cannot say it enough. There is no peace of mind or joy like the wondrous feeling of helping others. You mellow inside and have self-esteem, The Right Mental Attitude.

Don Jones