Age is a State of Mind

Age is a state of mind. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. If you care, you’re screwed.

I’m always amused by those soothsayers who’ve decided that since their parents lived long lives, somehow, they’re entitled to the same shot at longevity. Genetics and heredity aside, it doesn’t work that way. It’s a life journey we’re all on and no one has a ticket punched ‘eternity.’

My Mother lived a relatively healthy life until around age ninety then endured several years of gradual decline until her death at age 92. My Father died at age 46 of coronary thrombosis, a heart attack. So which parent will I follow? I’m just days away from 82 so I guess I should be aiming for the nineties like my mother. Oh, if it were only that easy.

One of the newest trends (read hot topic scams) is the hunt for longevity. Every day it seems there’s a new breakthrough on the road to Valhalla.

Too often the commercial focus on longevity gets it all wrong. Living well into old age is not a goal to strive for if good health and mental acuity isn’t present. Without a body that can move around somewhat agile and a mind still curious about life, living into old age is simply an exercise in cheating death for the moment.

Robert Reich (former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration) has an interesting piece on aging online. His synopsis on aging had some interesting observations. ‘In 1900, gerontologists considered ‘old’ to be 47. Today, you are considered ‘youngest-old’ at 65, ‘middle-old’ at 75, and at age 85, you are a member of the ‘oldest-old.’ Elderly friend once told Robert there were four ages to life: youth, middle age, old age, and ‘you look great.’

I have a friend, a former doctor, who reads the obituary pages religiously. I asked if he was looking for former patients. ‘Not ready,’ he answered, ‘I’m more curious how long they lasted and what brought them down. Maybe, I suggested, the banner page should read: ‘Older than Me’ or ‘Younger Than Me’ to refocus his real interest in the subject matter at hand.

There seems to be a new topic of conversation with some folks I know. Robert Reich calls it the ‘organ recital.’ The conversation almost inevitably turns to: how’s your back? knees? heart? hip? shoulder? eyesight? hearing? prostate? hemorrhoids? digestion? and the list can go on and on.

I’ve been extremely lucky in that I still have all my original body parts. After 47 years of running including three marathons, several attempted long-distance runs (over 50 miles) and countless trail runs, my joints, limbs, and extremities all seem to still be in reasonable working order. Whether that’s because of genetics or the support of walking sticks and knee braces on long hikes, I’m still going slow and easy and long.

One philosophy I try to adhere to religiously is the theme of keeping one’s mind active and body moving. There’s no time limit on one’s curiosity or one’s ability to find wonder in the little things around us. As we age, a lot of those things that mattered before like pop entertainment, political clowns and the weather lose a lot of their luster in the dawn of another brand-new day.

As I’ve repeatedly told friends, I have never looked forward to my afternoon at the gym but I’ve always felt one hundred percent better having completed my routines there. So, in a word, the secret is to keep moving; mentally and physically. The grim reaper may be coming around the corner but I’m going to give him/her one hell of a run for their effort to catch me.