Namaskar!
Greetings from a 70 years young Revathi Bhasker from Coimbatore, cancer survivor, recently widowed by COVID 19. There’s this wrong notion that old age is a disease and elders are usually grumpy, lonely, depressed and unhappy. However we need to look at the rainbow of joy and happiness that age brings, even if there are challenges.
Age is not related to happiness or income. There are more depressed people in their 20s and 30s than us seniors. Undoubtedly, the body grows old and there are hiccups, but we can focus on things we should be grateful for and accept things that cannot be changed. We can thus find a meaning in life and experience joy in pursuing our passions.
Most of us have discharged our responsibilities and have provided for our retired life. If children are close by, we can sit back and enjoy their company and regale our grand children with good old stories and anecdotes and rejoice in their innocence. If elders are a bit tech savvy, smart phones and computers help to bring friends and family closer.
We can pursue interests such as music, writing, dancing, gardening, craft work, playing games, learning languages, teaching ..woof. the sky is the limit! Spending some time regularly for exercise or yoga or in spiritual quests and undertaking morning walks breathing in the fresh air, along with a planned diet, can do wonders. Giving back to society in whatever way we can, volunteering to be helpful, keeps our mind sharp. I delight in organising game shows and other activities, teaching English to the less privileged, and of late, engaging in podcasts! By spending one hour entertaining fifty people is generating fifty hours of happiness. Cooking is another stress buster. Our traditions and rich culture have innumerable things to keep us interestingly engaged. Old age is a treasure that needs to be experienced. Coming to think of it, I have retired to begin life all over and am busier now than when I was in service! Growing old is not an option for me. Living a full life is.
anāyāsena maraṇaṁ vinādainyena jīvanaṁ। A peaceful death and a contented life is what we can hope for and believe that if God has ordained us to go through suffering, He will also give us the strength and courage to overcome it.
We are still young at heart and ASPIRE to INSPIRE.
Thank you!
by Mrs Revathi Bhasker, resident of Covai S3 Retirement Community
Reblog – originally published as podcast in mygov.in