To Be or Not to Be a Curmudgeon? That is the Question of Age.
Sometimes the temptation to give up the struggle to not let old age torture us into a twisted version of ourselves is overwhelming. And while some of us may have been that way from birth or soured when old age put paid to our unrealistic expectations, I know from my own and my husband’s daily jousts with life, that for the naturally hopeful – running out of physical strength, mental acuity, and the illusion of better future possibilities – casts a funeral pall on hope. You really only have two choices to help you bear the reality and sadness of limits in old age: be angry about everything all the time or learn to focus on the beauty of God in the small things in each moment while reveling in the pure grace of laughing at ourselves.
Posted on January 15, 2017, in blessings, disillusionment, fear for the future, Gifts of Age, hope, Humor, Moments of Wonder, Nature, Necessary Losses, spiritual growth, Suffering, the future and tagged anger hurts less that fear, curmudgeons, finding God in the present moment, God in the small beauties of nature, limits of age, Necessary Losses, the pure grace of laughing at ourselves, when hope sees the door. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Beautiful. As my 82 year old mom says “getting old just SUCKS!”.. but of course when you look at the alternatives it is something of a priviledge, to grow old is it not? And another famous quote of hers is “dad and I are just plodding along… plodding along.”
I guess we have this illusion about old age which is that we will have time and enjoy the “golden years” not realizing of course that the aches and pains are an issue and things get more challenging. As well, in the States, the elderly are not respected in the way they should be. Here in Asia, there is utmost respect for elderly people. They are considered super wise and taken well care of by community and family.
Peta
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Persevere is the little old ladies’ (LOL’s) marching song! I’m counting on the alternative being a whole lot better.
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Thanx for the headsup. My dad always says, Getting old is not for wimps.
I will work on laughing at myself more. Does anyone have a mirror I can borrow?
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By George, you’ve got it!!
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