Moving into My 70’s

This is the last birthday I’ll celebrate in my 60’s. It doesn’t feel any different than the years in my mid-60’s or even my 40’s, so what’s the big deal?

If you’re mature, centered, focused on gratitude and if you’re a seeker of serenity, it’s not a monumental event, 69 going on 70. It’s easy to do this getting older thing if you and yours are feeling fairly good and appreciating these elder years as perhaps some of our best.

I feel fortunate to celebrate my final sixth-decade year and enthusiastically anticipate the next decade.  But what if we don’t feel good about our future years?

What if moving from one year to the next isn’t joyous?

What if you keep the news of another birthday a secret because this reminder of aging is not welcomed? What if the finger is in the dam, holding back the tide of years that seems to move swifter with time?

Logically, we all know there’s nothing to stave off the onslaught of ascending years.

It becomes an issue of how rather than if you respond to getting older. Some get muted, neither welcoming joyously nor whining impishly as birthdays roll in.

I wish my sage advice could make aging easier for you.

Not all my days are wonderful and satisfying. Many days I wish I was younger, more agile, less creaky and consistently in an upbeat and enthusiastic mood. Such a desire isn’t realistic. The difference for me is that I welcome what I’ve got and, when I’m feeling like I don’t have enough in terms of being happy and satisfied with my advanced age, I look around.

It doesn’t take much to recognize the bounty of my life – the bounty of friends and a spiritual community, the availability of clean water to drink and good food to eat, and free or inexpensive resources that can easily entertain me the rest of my days. I don’t take for granted the library or senior programs or events that honor elders in our communities. I welcome a 10% discount just for being older!

It’s a cliché but it’s true:  getting older is better than the alternative.

Whether I’m in the last year of my 60’s or the first year of my 90’s … I hope to celebrate it all and take nothing for granted!