YOUR GOLDEN YEARS
Believing You Can Still
Make Waves
To be able to make new waves in the golden
years, you must learn new things. It is a myth that you can never teach an old
dog new tricks. You are not an old dog, so how do you know? Learn new things,
such as the computer and the Internet technology, which is forever changing,
keeping your mental capability updated. Learn how to play a new musical
instrument; it not only helps your memory but also improves your coordination
and dexterity. Learn a new language to enhance your auditory skills. Learn a
new sport, such as golf, if you are not already playing it. Golf is an ideal
sport for seniors because it is a game in which every player competes mostly
against himself or herself and almost always loses—a valuable lesson to learn
in the golden years. Write a book, or start blogging to share your own views
and communicate with others.
There are so many areas where you can make a difference or
still make waves, if only you believe you can. Just don’t keep your mind
idle. Remember the expression: “An idle mind is the devil’s workplace.”
You can still make waves in the second half of your life if
you set your mind to pursuing a life of meaning and finding a deeper meaning in
whatever that comes your way. If you know what life in your golden years can
offer, set simple goals to reach out for them, believe in yourself that you can
still make waves, and they will be yours. This is how you can turn “age-ing”
into “sage-ing.”
Believing
in Santa Claus leads to believing in yourself, which may also lead to your
believing in senior spirituality. It is a fact that most seniors become more
spiritual as they continue to advance in age.
Man is born with a spirit: a
conscience to know what is right and wrong, as well as a desire to connect with
his Creator (or God’s desire to be connected with man). In the course of life,
man may disregard the human conscience when he does evil, or may even suppress
the innate desire to know his Creator when he purposely turns away from Him.
If, on the other hand, an individual
does everything according to his or her conscience, that individual may still
be considered “spiritual” even without displaying a desire to know the Creator.
With that said, given that all human efforts are imperfect, it is almost
impossible for any individual, without expressing his or her desire to connect
with God, to remain spiritual for long without that divine connection. In other
words, the spirituality based on the human conscience alone is not enduring and
non-sustaining over time. Man somehow needs to seek bondage with his Creator.
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire; men cannot live
without a spiritual life.” Buddha
At some point in your life,
especially in your golden years, you may begin to sense your incompleteness,
your loneliness, your profound limitations, your disillusion with human vanity,
and you may begin to long for something or someone that can truly fill and
satisfy you or your inner longing. In your youth, you might have
turned to the world to gratify your wants and needs, such as successful
careers, material comforts, and satisfying relationships, among others. Now, in
your golden years, you may have realized that your past wayward pursuits were
in vain—much like “a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2, 11), and
that you had deviated from your conscience and distanced yourself from
spirituality.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by
Stephen Lau
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