In the twilight years, when one is feeling low, thoughts invariably turn towards the missed opportunities or the wrong road taken at crucial junctions. It’s part of human nature to cry over spilt milk and how so much one may philosophise or pontificate about, there is simply no way to avoid it.
As the saying goes: “May God give us the strength to change what we can, the humility to accept what we cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference between the two”. Easily said than done, hopefully having seen many summers one should be somewhat capable of a fair judgment of the situation confronting oneself.
However, such instances of self-remorse can, and in fact should be kept under check and progressively reduced. For in life what has happened in the past cannot be erased or modified as there are no replay or rewind buttons which destiny has provided us with.
Death is inevitable and one must learn and strive to make the most of what every time one’s genes and lifestyle have programmed. If events have not turned out to one’s liking, it’s just too bad and one has to lump it as nothing much is gained by ruminating over past misdeeds or failures.
Keeping oneself mentally, physically and most important emotionally active and healthy, is perhaps one of the key factors in fighting off those “split milk blues” and making the twilight years highly enjoyable. For as one of the women’s beauty ads keep on repeating ad-nauseum, “You are worth it”, and most certainly earned it.
Prioritising one’s daily chores and keeping oneself active for at least eight to 10 hours a day may be enough, by reading, creative writing, doing cross words, etc to keep those grey cells humming with electrical charge while half an hour of brisk walk in the morning as well as evening would keep those red corpuscles flowing around the arteries to keep one mentally and physically healthy.
However, it gets a bit tricky when one has to find ways and means to keep emotionally happy, which in case of women is inescapable and hence the need for keeping in touch with kids and grandchildren, while men may get by with small doses.
This is where the good old days of joint families came in handy but may not be feasible any more, what with the kids opting to set up their own home far away from any family restrictions or responsibilities.
Keeping in touch with near and dear ones via phone, Facebook, FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp are some of the half a dozen electronic gizmos, which one can easily master and is worth the effort even if one is technically challenged.
Being member of a club or group which meets on a daily or weekly basis is a good way to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances and break the week’s monotonous schedule. Of course invitations to weddings, birthdays and other occasions are always welcome.
Though macabre it may seem, of late I found myself attending prayer meetings and funerals of old friends just to get out of the house and connect with other human beings with whom I can reminisce about the good old days.
Last but not the least, watching old movies, reading your favourite novels, visiting old haunts, friends and relations, helps rejuvenate the good old grey cells preventing onset of Alzheimer’s disease, as some medical studies claim.
If health permits and there are no major financial or physical constraints, travel is an excellent means of keeping away the old age blues. However to some who are under a very strict daily regime of diet, medicines, sleep, etc. and to whom this option may not be available, all one can say is — tough luck!
