Celebrate the Older American in May
by Kathryn
Urick
Published
The Elder Teller
“Considering the alternative, I hope to be one.”
That was the response from my oldest son when I asked his opinion of the Older American. His answer didn’t surprise me. He has a keen sense of humor; a great asset to a person growing older.
As one observes the activities of many older Americans, one sees people who live in ma more or less compassionate community, who serve as volunteers in many places where they are greatly needed; in hospitals, churches, schools, visiting shut-ins, etc. They learn new hobbies, they travel, they write. an unknown author wrote: “Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years; people grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin but to give up interests, shrivels the soul.”
So they knit baby caps and mittens; they make bibs and lap robes; some take up painting and discover the have talent! Sturdy, wooden toys are appearing, the results of the skills of an elderly craftsman. They read and enjoy their friends, and the list goes on. Plus, they share their joys and sorrows.
To Escape the gloom and doom syndrome, older Americans are discovering that exercise helps and as their days pass, their sixth sense is put more into action … their sense of humor. As an older man said, sitting in the barber’s chair, “they tell me I’m losing my mind, but that doesn’t bother me. I don’t use it much anymore, anyhow.” The famous Henri J. Nowen calls humor, “knowledge with a soft smile.”
The author of In Favor of Growing Older calls us to prove wrong anything in our culture that robs us of human dignity, usefulness, and service. God created us in his own image, and he surely did not intend us to spend the last third of life in uselessness or frustrated in despair. Nor do I find evidence that God favors the present-day trend toward isolating older people from society; every individual is worthy in the sight of God and growing older is part of his plan throughout eternity.
However, we must remember that nowhere is it promised or implied that life will be a bowl of cherries – or a bed of roses, free from thorns. Isaac Watts asked in a hymn written in 1721, “Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize or sailed through bloody seas?” To go through life without strain and stress would keep us weak and immature.
To sum up, as one continues to see older Americans living a lifestyle that
appears to be working for them, as they adapt to the changes in time, I say,
“Hats off to older Americans.” And as
Paul Tournier pointed out in his A Happy Look at Aging, “Older Americans
who enjoy their later years, are the ones who spontaneously find useful and
interesting things to do and are never bored.
They have “go” power, enthusiasm about life and in living.
Hats off to today’s older Americans!