Old Age – A Blessing
It is a fact that old age does create some problems but it is
quite possible to take this as normal and save yourself from negative thinking. By awakening your mind, you can live with
a positive outlook.
In the USA a series of research projects under the heading of Progress in Brain Research (2008), were conducted under the patronage of Yale University. Its findings were reported in the New York Times, with the meaningful title Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain (May 20, 2008). According to their investigations, researchers have found that old age is not any kind of curse for man but is rather a blessing.
In essence, old age is the advanced stage of one’s intellectual development and of one’s intellectual journey. Old age, in fact, is a symptom of maturity, increased experience and wisdom. The well-known saying, ‘Old is Gold’ expresses this perfectly.
While the health of the physical body depends on how many calories we are taking in, the brain is an independent part of our being. Therefore, our mental health depends entirely on positive thinking. If you maintain your positivity in pre-old age, then you will enjoy mental health in the period of old age, even if your body is deteriorating. All those who reach an advanced age are potentially cases of the kind mentioned above. The only condition is that you must maintain your positivity.
It is a fact that old age does create some problems but it is quite possible to take this as normal and save yourself from negative thinking. By awakening your mind, you can live with a positive outlook. This is the only course to take, and if an aged person is able to do so, he can certainly emerge as a wise person.
Indeed, old age is the best phase of one’s life. Old age means having more experience, more learning and greater sincerity, wisdom and maturity. All these qualities are enough to make one a great person. According to his situation, the mature individual can do worthwhile things, like founding an NGO, writing his memoirs, opening a counselling centre, etc. An aged person is better placed to give his society or humanity the kind of precious gift that it was not possible for him to give in his youth. One must recognize this opportunity given by nature, and try to utilize it in whatever form suitable to one.
For people, old age all too frequently becomes a liability for themselves and others. The old person tends to think that he is no longer of any use. This phenomenon is not due to ageing. It is due rather to people becoming negative in their old age and failing to turn negative into positive thinking. It is an intellectual problem rather than a physical one. I know many aged people who are capable of performing useful tasks but, because of their negative thinking, they have failed to avail of this opportunity.
I am a writer, now in my nineties. Those who read my articles say that the articles that I write now are clearer and more profound than my earlier writings. According to my assessment, the only reason is that I always try to live as a tension-free person. I face all those same problems in life that make people negative, but I have learnt the art of negativity management. This is the only reason I am living with a totally positive mind, even in this old age.
In my experience, most problems are imaginary rather than real. If you are able to differentiate between what is real and what is imaginary, you will soon discover that what you had been considering to be a real problem was, in fact, a non-real problem.
Learn to sort things out and you will be able to live in a state of normalcy and positivity till you breathe your last breath.
