I was in physical therapy this morning, I have a bone spur in my hip and deteriorating spine, and I heard myself say Old age is quite an adventure. I'd not had that thought before. Sure I'd repeated things I've heard, old age is not for whimps for example, but not the adventure thing.
The idea jumped through me and got my attention. It really IS an adventure into new territory - new ways of being, new ideas, new challenges, yes to an unknown world of adaptations for physical decline, food to avoid GERD or other problems - on and on.
I have to consider things that I didn't used to even give a second of my time. I have to be careful about all sorts of things I used to simply sprint by gleefully. No more walking on uneven paths. No more red wine. No more late nights. Etc.
But then I no longer spend time in frivolous upset. I'm not concerned what others think of me. I can be totally me without concern, because how you take me is your business. I can walk away from stupidity and dramas in other people's minds. I can wear white after labor day and stay in my nightgown till I'm done reading and meditating, even if it is 11:00. I can decline being on a committee or refrain from things I really do not want to do/ be/buy/spend time on.
The Adventure of old age is restricted in some ways, yet it is freedom too. It is perhaps all the more precious because I know there is an expiration date for this particular life. At some point in the future I shall have the grand adventure of birth into the next life, into the realm of Spirit. Maybe I need to re-read "The Tibetan Book of the Dead." 😁
At any rate, I plan to enjoy this old age adventure with zest and goodwill just as I have entered all previous adventures. I plan to continue as far as I can on my lifelong spiritual quest. I will live until I die and make my grand exit here and entrance there.
Long live us old foogies.
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