As most of us here at Pine Run are between 65 and Death, I offer these words to live by written by someone else. They appeared in Harry Newton’s daily blog called in “Search of the Perfect Investment”. In these days of fighting political parties, threats of war, guns in schools and all other horrors, I found it calming and insightful. I hope you will also. Let’s be good to ourselves as well others. (Editor’s note: This is a very abridged version of the original article.)
Regardless of age, always keep love alive.
Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbor and remember: “A man is not old as long as he has intelligence and affection.”
Be proud, both inside and out.
Don’t stop going to your hair salon or barber, do your nails, go to the dermatologist and the dentist, keep your perfumes and creams well stocked. When you are well maintained on the inside, it seeps in, making you feel proud and strong.
Don’t lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style.
There is nothing worse than an older person trying to wear the current fashion among youngsters. You’ve developed your own sense of what looks good on you – keep it and be proud of it. It’s part of who you are.
Don’t abandon your hobbies.
If you don’t have any, make new ones. You can travel, hike, cook, read, dance. You can adopt a cat or dog, grow a garden, play cards, checkers, dominoes, golf. You can paint, volunteer… or just collect certain items. Find something you like and spend some real time having fun with it. Try not to complain or criticize too much unless you really need to. Try to accept situations as they are. Everyone is going through the same things, and people have a low tolerance for hearing complaints. Always find some good things to say as well.
If you have a strong belief, savor it.
But don’t waste your time trying to convince others. They will make their own choices no matter what you tell them, and it will only bring you frustration. Live your faith and set an example. Live true to your beliefs and let that memory sway them.
Laugh, laugh a lot. Laugh at everything.
Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You managed to have a life, a long one. Many never get to this age, never get to experience a full life. But you did. So what’s not to laugh about?
If you’ve been offended by someone – forgive them.
If you’ve offended someone – apologize. …It doesn’t matter who was right. …Forgive, forget and move on with your life.
Editor’s Note: A long time ago a friend told me there are two rules to a happy marriage – 1. Your wife is always right. 2. In case of an argument, go back to rule #1.
— Nancy Lee Rogerson