The later years of our lives, rather than being seen as the waning of youth can be viewed as the resolution of our maturity and in the fullness of time, can bring its own level of contentment and special rewards. It’s not hard to remember the awkwardness that existed in our youth but as the years pass and almost miraculously, there’s a level of confidence that slowly emerges with the slow advance of our years. If we can manage to get to the point where we look past the wrinkles, the sagging skin and the weight problems we can begin to edge towards discovering which of our inner attitudes are still annoyingly uncomfortable and clogging up our system with junk. In our older age this is our challenge. It’s here, at this very juncture of awareness, of mindfulness, that we either tend to drain our enthusiasm for life or we can become renewed with vigor, with understanding and, with an eagerness for all things new. 

If we speak of vitality and vigor then we should also reflect on our own inner robustness, for sudden emotional changes can arise unexpectedly, especially when we finally decide to pull the plug and exit from a lifetime of work. This critical moment pushes all our buttons. There is much written on how to stay healthy in your retirement, these are all positive steps that focus on being physically active, staying engaged in your community, not overeating and keeping a healthy diet, giving up bad habits and reviewing your medication on a regular basis. All sound advice.

Today my focus is not so much on these issues however important they are in the overall mix. Some of us arrive at retirement knowing that the life they have lived was less than perfect, a struggle that took sacrifice, willpower and endurance to overcome. Others more fortunate, were so engaged in their work and careers that their very identities became intimately entwined with ‘who they were at work’. So, today I want to talk about how our bounce, our zest for life can be maintained in our senior years but first, we should speak of how our distractions can upset things a little.

Many alternative health therapists will encourage you to ‘become your own doctor’ this simply means becoming much more proactive in monitoring your own physical and mental well being, it’s a sensible approach, especially if you can learn to become more sensitised to the distress signals and to have a better understanding of what area of help is really required, if at all. Greater awareness of our emotional world can also be of enormous benefit to our physical well-being. Mind and body, body and mind – it all works together.

So, how does being distracted fit into a thriving and vibrant old age?. If you were to glance over at the younger generations you will notice something happening, their level of distraction is very high, technology has robbed them of intimacy and even when around others they are still glued to a phone, often avoiding any meaningful dialogue. Why so ? Perhaps the answer is in how our attention keeps getting pulled away, being distracted by enormous amounts of information which tends to hide the fact that in the news cycle our feelings and emotions are being completely sidelined or redirected. Reading the paper can instantly give us relief from frustration, switching on the TV works really well for boredom, taking a couple of pills and going to bed even better if you’re depressed. But are these well worn strategies for distracting ourselves exactly what we want or just an old habit that really needs some adjustment?

Readers of this blog are blessed with an amazing freedom of choice. We have been given a mind-boggling amount of stuff to use but the question is, has the convenience of all these preferences, become our number one technique for avoiding our feelings? When we sidestep our emotions we also cut ourselves off from others regardless of how healthy our bodies may be. There’s a saying that goes: ’no one has ever become poor by giving’ – by lifting others up don’t we also lift our own boat at the same time. Sharing with others is one of the best ways to diffuse a lack of energy. Every interaction we have with another person is an opportunity to exchange energy and believe me there’s nothing new-age about this, we have all experienced it, remember coming away from that certain conversation feeling absolutely drained, this person sucked us dry, but then the opposite is true when we have a positive upbeat conversation that leaves us completely energised and wanting more from life…

Energy exchanges happen with all human interactions, I’m sure most will remember the lasting effect of our first love, the battery stays charged forever. Much of life deals with this struggle for energy, how to get more of it and also how to get rid of it. Stress is simply not owning up to what we’re feeling, and if our first impulse is to fall back on our favourite distraction, then we run the risk of remaining blind to who we are and what’s achievable. It’s time we began to empower ourselves, not by controlling others but by building successful communities that open doors instead of protecting them with barrackades. 

Staying enthusiastic in our retired years is so important and it’s also sensible, if we wish to  help our future generations. Regardless of what faith you may have, or not have, when the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” he actually meant it, he was guiding us in the right direction for sure, there is joy, energy and much happiness in the act of giving, particularly when it is done with pure motives, when we don’t expect anything in return for your gift of goodwill.