I was watching the 60 Minutes TV show that featured Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, the other day. According to his biography he was born in November 1928, thus making him an 84 year old man. In the TV show he was shown to be still playing tennis with his wife. He is not only physically fit but also mentally fit. Reading his life story, makes me envious of his physical prowess in spite of his age.
So, why am I envious of Mr Cooper? Well today, my mind is still clear and active, but my body is getting weak and bothered with aches and pains. In my younger days, I took care of my body, by not smoking or drinking alcohol. But I guess good health in old age are in your genes. I used to play tennis in my late 60's and only stopped after I had ruptured my Achilles tendon. I was in a cast for six weeks and that was not fun at all.
There are also several famous octogenarian in the news recently who are still active physically and to them my congratulations. Speaking of aging the following five quotes are my favorites. Do you have one? Can you share?
1. “As you get older; you've probably noticed that you tend to forget things. You'll be talking with somebody at a party, and you'll know that you know this person, but no matter how hard you try, you can't remember his or her name. This can be very embarrassing, especially if he or she turns out to be your spouse.”
― Dave Barry
2, “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”
― Sophia Loren
3. “You don't stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”
― George Bernard Shaw
4. “It’s very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you’d always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, it’s also the positive that you understand you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.”
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
5. “Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess:
Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity.
Release me from the idea that I must straighten out other peoples' affairs. With my immense treasure of experience and wisdom, it seems a pity not to let everybody partake of it. But thou knowest, Lord, that in the end I will need a few friends.
Keep me from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.
Grant me the patience to listen to the complaints of others; help me to endure them with charity. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains -- they increase with the increasing years and my inclination to recount them is also increasing.
I will not ask thee for improved memory, only for a little more humility and less self-assurance when my own memory doesn't agree with that of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.
Keep me reasonably gentle. I do not have the ambition to become a saint -- it is so hard to live with some of them -- but a harsh old person is one of the devil's masterpieces.
Make me sympathetic without being sentimental, helpful but not bossy. Let me discover merits where I had not expected them, and talents in people whom I had not thought to possess any. And, Lord, give me the grace to tell them so.
Amen”
― Margot Benary-Isbert
I hope if you are a senior citizen that you are aging gracefully.
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