Inspirational Story

I just came across this inspirational story about aging and a healthy attitude toward aging and longevity. Please, Please enjoy. Always know that age and experience are gifts!

"Old age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body - the wrinkles, the baggy eyes and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read until 4:00 am and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50s & 60s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten and I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no" and mean it. I can say "yes" and mean it. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day."

I would like to take a moment and talk about a remarkable woman. Nola Ochs is not your ordinary 97 year old. Two years ago Nola Ochs became the oldest person ever to graduate college. She was able to graduate with a degree in History from Fort Hays State University in Kansas. History. How Ironic. Of course, it's easy for someone who witnessed first hand a lot of what her specialty was! What an inspiration to senior citizens everywhere. In watching some videos that she is in you can tell that she is just as spry as ever. Her energy and enthusiasm for learning has never waned. In fact, when asked what she was going to do after she graduated, she simply stated that she would like to seek employment on a cruise ship of all places. On a cruise ship to be a professional story teller. There is no doubt that being young in mind turns to being young at heart and body. Aging is a natural process but it can be slowed.
Ms. Ochs is one to stop counting birthdays. And why should we? The less we keep track of the more we can trick our minds and bodies to what are real age is! I can't help but notice that the most well aged people are those that can laugh, view the positive, compliment others, serve others, and walk with perpetual smiles. Life is too precious to waste away with excuses. Something is always better than nothing. I love this story of healthy aging in mind and spirit. Nola Ochs is truly an inspiration to us all. Let's all commit to try something new, learn a new skill, read a new book, try something outrageous. I remember when I was younger I remember smiling all day when my grandmother rode on the roller coaster with me in Salt Lake City, Utah. She didn't watch all of us have all the fun, she joined in and made it fun for all of us.
Let us know what you've been learning, doing, or changing in order to make a positive change for the better. We'd love to hear it and inspire others who share your same vision.
Hope to hear from you all soon!

Submit Your Story

The Health in Aging: Issues and Answers Blog would like to announce a new feature that will begin at the end of this month. Each month an inspiring story will be featured in a blog post as submitted from our readers. Many times in the news we hear of 90-year-old+ people graduating college, staving off intruders, and other things people think difficult and nearly impossible to do.

We want to hear your story! Submit one today and it could be featured in the Health in Aging: Issues and Answers! Inspire others with your story.

Submit to: walruspie@gmail.com with the subject line: Health in Aging: Issues and answers story submission.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Stay healthy and aged!

A Welcome

Aging is a fact of life. It is natural, and everyone does it! The more we live the older we get. Seems obvious enough. There comes a point when aging stops. It's when our health no longer exists. Seems that health is the determining factor in how much one can age.

It should be a priority, in everyone's life, to slow this process. The more we can live, the more we can love, care, influence, inspire, instruct, and count blessings.

This blog is to prepare every person to make every second count, in order to count more seconds.

Feel free to browse, comment, and discuss as you feel. Supporting this blog is supporting life and happiness for you and those whom you love every day.