Aging & The Throwaway Culture Continued

Let’s hear it for our fabulous over 60 crowd!!

The question is, how do we all come out of the closet and say to the many who have ignored us, “I am here! I have valuable information to share, ideas & perspectives that might change the directions our society is taking”?  Aging is magnificent – let’s live it to the fullest.

Families, now further apart, often look at their parents as obsolete or having suddenly gone “stupid” with minimal value to offer. While they have no patience for us, perhaps we can teach them that patience is a virtue that took us years to acquire.

Usually, grandparents are more revered by their grandchildren because they give them individual attention and show more patience. Our children may still be stuck in remembering our foibles when we were 20-30 years younger. Perhaps we elders have learned from our experiences and can now offer some valuable viewpoints, but we may never be given the chance.

We have so much more to give and share, as well as, receive. Let’s stand up for our “Throwaways” and re-purpose ourselves into mentors for the future, contributing to greater, more engaged communities and families.

Some ideas you might consider to keep us from falling into the stereotype of “old people”:

1.  Get healthy so you can be able to participate in many life activities.
2.  Determine what you are passionate about and decide how to get involved if you aren’t already.
3.  Get active (or “just Do It” as they say at Nike)
4.  See where you can give back – mentoring, charitable work, political activism – volunteering to be a reader at an elementary school or tutoring at middle or high school could be an idea.
5. Write your memoirs
6.  Learn or relearn a skill you like that you can share with a grandchild or do for yourself.
7. Set up special time with family members – expressing gratitude, helping with grandchildren, meeting one on one with family members to build or rebuild relationships.
8. Take interesting classes at local community colleges

For those of you younger, how about giving us more than a “moment of your time” or a brief text. You will one day be an “elder” too, and have much to offer those younger. Don’t wait until then to realize what you have missed along the way.

I present this as food for thought, with the request of all who read this to share ideas on how to create a more inclusive community of all ages with the concept of collaboration and cooperation where we all learn from each other.

Don’t believe media nonsense – we seniors have value, lots of energy and vitality left, and the wisdom and experience to make the world a better place!!