Aging well
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No regrets
“Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely.” ~Haruki Murakami At dinner last night, a neighbor texted to tell me that the husband of a former neighbor had died suddenly. The man was only in his sixties, and his death was one of several losses in our neighborhood over the past year. We’re reminded, at times like these, to treat each other with care, sensitivity, and respect. And no matter how old we are, we can start by setting aside our pride (or grievances) and telling our loved ones how much they…
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Making the most of our days
“The realization that I may have only a few good years remaining has hit me with real force, and I have done a lot of thinking as a result… I try to figure out what I really want to do every day. I try to say to myself, ‘If this is one of the last days of my life, am I doing exactly what I want to be doing?’” ~Nora Ephron Today’s quote underscores an important conversation we started last night in my “Aging with Grace & Courage” group. We all agreed that we’re hyper-aware of the time we have left in our senior years — and we want to…
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Still looking through an old lens?
“If you don’t allow yourself to learn and grow from the experience — from what was said, done, and felt — you will always look at your life through the same old lens.” ~Marc and Angel Chernoff, Marc & Angel Hack Life Sometimes we keep repeating the same mistakes while expecting different results. Or maybe we’re so deeply entrenched in our rut that we don’t even notice that old patterns of behavior and outdated opinions aren’t working for us anymore. We like to think we’re being loyal or consistent or traditional — but sometimes we’re just lazy or stubborn. This can apply to everything from redecorating the kitchen to rekindling…
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Old friends
Sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst conducted a now-famous study on friendship. In particular, he investigated how the context in which we meet people shapes our social network. One of his conclusions: We naturally lose about half of our friends every seven years. Given our ever-changing circumstances — we move, change jobs, get married — it’s logistically impossible to remain close to every friend we’ve ever had. My dear friend Debbie and I touched on this topic yesterday. Deb and I met when we were both pregnant nearly 39 years ago, and our enduring friendship is wrapped in layers of shared memories and experiences. We’re also lucky enough to have kept a few…
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Looking on the bright side
“Our job is to find the positive in every situation and focus on that. What you focus on becomes more pronounced. When you zero in on the positive, that’s what you see and that’s where you live….People will not treat you less seriously because you refuse to share a worldview with the Grim Reaper.” ~Victoria Moran All too often lately, I catch myself complaining aloud and rehashing the same-old problems and worries. Just for starters, I’m tired of worrying about the current state of political turmoil and insanity and the future of our country. I’m tired of being disappointed in too many people. I’m tired of worrying about driving on…
