How do I often get ‘off topic’? Well, maybe because my brain is always moving at 90mph. Except sometimes on the bike. Sometimes, because that is good thinking time also.
Speaking of getting ‘off topic’, allow me to be totally off topic for this entire time. Please.
Aging. It can be great and it can be sad. My grandfather used to say. ‘it is better than the alternative.” I agree, mostly.
Some thoughts.
Dementia and other brain related aging processes are ‘at best’, sad and frustrating and can move anywhere along the spectrum from there to dangerous and deadly. It is something that is being studied and I hope that progress will be made in treatment as we understand this better.
I do not want to go that deep. I am not talking about ‘that aging’; I am talking aging in a manner that is ‘healthy’. Meaning aging that is ‘not overtly impacted by disease processes’ and is just a factor of healthy aging. I know, we are still figuring that out.
For example, we all know ‘old people’. You might call me one. Some old people are good natured and fun. Some are grumpy. Someone once said to me that a particular person gets more and more grumpy the older he gets. That person said it to me as if it were a part of aging.
I disagree. I think that as we age, we become more of who we really are. Yes, read that again. When we are young we are ‘figuring it all out’ – who we are, what the world is, what is important to us … things like that.
The older we get the more we understand who we are. The older we get the less we care about what others think of us. So I believe – the older you get the more you become who you are.
Meaning – a grumpy old man was a grumpy young man. As age increased, he became more comfortable being ‘who he is’ and thus it appears to magnify his grumpiness but is actually only being revealed more clearly.
Same with the woman that always has a smile and is full of joy. I believe she was always that way, but the older she gets the more she can experience and express that which she is.
Yes, disease processes can alter that in dramatic ways, but again, we are not talking about the impact of disease processes … I am talking about healthy aging – just having another birthday uncomplicated by other variables.
What do I think? I say ‘embrace who you are’ and experience it as young an age as possible. Well, maybe not if you are the grumpy one – hold off showing that as long as possible. Actually, I also believe in change … that as humans we are capable of change. If you are getting older and feeling more grumpy – look at why. Ask yourself if that is who you really want to be. It does not have to be that way unless you want it to be.
What do you think?
66 and ride about 140 miles a week. A 20 mile ride at 90 to 120 minutes I can recover from overnight. Increase the distance or speed and recovery becomes more than a good overnight sleep.
I like the idea that we become “more who we are”. As I move through my mid 50’s, I feel mostly comfortable and happy with the person that I am. Luckily I have mostly felt that way throughout my life. But I’m not sure it’s just who I have always been. I am fortunate enough to have had a very good partner for the past 25 years and that has had an impact on the way I have changed with age.