How to enjoy your advancing years

Like it or not, we all age and we all age at exactly the same rate. Some of us embrace the process while others fight it perhaps with an ever increasing amount of regret.

During the ageing process, once again we all experience physical change. Experts say we can slow this process by exercise and by a carefully constructed diet.

As we age we mature mentally and learn to ignore or suppress the negatives we encounter whilst appreciating more the really important things in our lives. Generally we become happier as we age although admittedly this can sometimes be countered by unmanaged pain.

We should never forget that we gain an incredible amount of skill and experience as we progress through life and, in our more advanced years, we can put all of this to good use by learning new skills that we have wanted to gain but have not done so due to other commitments. Examples of possible new skills are manifold but include photography and writing while an exercise habit like walking offers additional potential benefits. We can also enhance, and build on, our contacts with family members and friends, and there are also countless ways in which we can give back to society.

A word that I have never used much is ‘mortality’. I suppose that, subconsciously, I considered myself immortal. A recent NDE (near death experience) altered all of that, of course and, although I was unaware of my situation at that time, I have subsequently begun to enjoy things that, previously, I had tended to ignore. I have been a “Type-A” personality for most of my life, walking around with a furrowed brow and constantly worrying about my to-do list. Nowadays it takes a lot more to make me become very concerned about anything at all!

Perhaps as another consequence of my NDE I have also become less acquisitive and increasingly content with what amounts to status quo in my life.

When taking my initial steps towards recovery, my neurologist (a wonderful man) managed my expectations carefully and I am delighted to say that a full recovery is now ever closer. His first advice to me (I had never met him before as I had been unconscious when he visited me in ICU) was that I should start every day with a smile and a positive thought. That is probably the best advice I have ever received and provoking a smile from absolute strangers is often an added bonus!