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Inspiration
      JUNE / JULY 2020  •  MONTANA SENIOR NEWS                                                                                                   PAGE 3






                                  Let Us Never Know Old Age






                                                                                      Tomes may have been written and published on happiness and
                                                                                  aging; however, the connection between happiness and aging is a
                                                                                  purely personal one, joined within one’s self.
                                                                                      Ausonius urged us to not count the years, to never know what
                                                                                  old age is, but to know the happiness time brings. Personally, it is
                                                                                  difficult not to count the years.
                                                                                      I, like most of us, was reared in a backdrop of birthdays.
                                                                                  Counting years was a big deal, a celebratory cause. Learning to not
                                                                                  count them has been, and is, challenging.
                                                                                      Nevertheless, I am realizing the happiness time brings, accruing
                                                                                  years notwithstanding. Life continues to become more precious,
                                                                                  bird songs more melodious, health more treasured, and loved ones
                                                                                  more cherished.
                                                                                      Appreciation, awareness, and admiration deepen. Gratitude,
                                                                                  wonder, and awe swell. Joyfulness of a strong, loving marriage,
                                                                                  contentment of a serene home, and peacefulness of an orderly life
                                                                                  intensify as age accumulates. Sunsets are as beautiful as sunrises.
                                                                                      Perhaps we elders value sunsets’ splendors as time has taught
      Tomes may have been written and published on happiness and aging; however,   us gratefulness for our years.
      the connection between happiness and aging is a purely personal one, joined     A kindred senior sat down beside me on a bench recently. We
      within one’s self. © Photosvit, Bigstock.com.
                                                                                  exchanged some small talk. Then he said, “At my age I don’t hurry
                                                                                  anywhere anymore.”
      BY NOAH LEVIA                                                                   He rose and continued on his journey, slowly, to be sure, but
                                                                                  steadily. Time had brought him that certain happiness. Time will
      (SENIOR WIRE) Decimius Magnus Ausonius was a Roman poet                     bring it to us all if we allow it. Together we’re headed home on a
      who lived from 310 to 395. His quote is as poignant today as it was         common journey.
      almost two millennia ago: “Let us know the happiness time brings.”              Like my bench companion, let’s slow down, be more apprecia-
          There is indeed a certain happiness, peace, and contentment that        tive, and be kinder to each other. Let us never know what old age
      arrive with aging. We who have attained elder status can contemplate        is. Let us know the happiness time brings. And let us share it. MSN
      our lives’ perceived failures or triumphs with hindsight’s appreciation
                 “     Let us never know what


                 old age is. Let us know the

           happiness time brings, not count                                            FINALLY!

                   the years.         ”     –  Ausonius                                SOMETHING



      of concluded objectives and goals. Whether those ambitions were                  WORTH
      fulfilled or not, they belong to younger, departed days.
          Now, in our “days of ripening,” we may muse upon bygone
      ones—relieved that former fights have been fought, not to be                     READING!
      fought again; past pains endured, not to hurt again; and desired
      achievements accomplished, to be long treasured.
          In the present we may relax, knowing the past is perfected, since
      it cannot be relived. Time produces perspective. Perspective produces
      wisdom. Wisdom yields acceptance, and acceptance grants happiness.
          Let us know the happiness time brings.
          Volumes have been written on happiness and aging. Numerous                   SUBSCRIBE TODAY
      researchers have examined copious scientific studies on the correla-
      tion between contentment and maturing. Carolyn Gregoire, senior
      writer for the Huffington Post, noted  a 2010 Gallup poll that found
      happiness tends to be positively linked with age, and 85-year-olds
      are more satisfied with life than 18-year-olds.                                                     SUBCRIBE ONLINE:
          That is not surprising. I daresay many seniors recall teen years                            MontanaSeniorNews.com
      as ones of hormonal havoc, confused focus, and inner instability.
          Andrew J. Oswald, psychology professor at Warwick Business                                       OR SEND $15 TO:
      School, said “It’s a very encouraging fact that we can be happier                    1985 McMannamy Draw, Kalispell, MT 59901
      in our early 80s than we were in our 20s.”
          Buddha affirmed:  “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it with-
      out.” Psychoanalyst Ken Eisold echoed that affirmation as he wrote
      in Psychology Today, “As we age, we have the opportunity to accept
      who we are…that acceptance brings a higher degree of enjoyment.”
          Dr. Vivian Diller, psychologist and author, writes in her blog, “…I
      no longer use the term ‘midlife crisis,’ replacing it with ‘emerging                                   •  LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
      maturity’…with age comes wisdom…and smarter life choices that                                                @MontanaSeniorNews
      are more likely to bring us satisfaction.”
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