Adventures in Living a Healthy, Juicy Life
by Cheryl Ragsdale
Welcome to the January 31, 2010 edition of staying young – from the inside out. This week Neil from Down Under shares his interesting insights as to what we can learn from the “Old Bull” about aging and being happy as we live longer, healthier lives. His informative article appears below the following list of links to articles focused on helping us to stay healthy.
Since we”ll be living longer lives, we’ll need to stretch our money further. Have a look at SVB’s and TSW’s selections on 12 ways to stay fit and healthy and several different ways to exercise for cheap.
fitness
SVB presents 12 Cheap Ways To Keep Fit And Stay Healthy posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”
TSW presents Ways To Exercise For Cheap posted at The Smarter Wallet.
debergerac78 presents My Cooking Journey Begins posted at Albertsons Wellbeing, saying, “Together with Albertsons nutritionist Heidi Diller, an everyday woman tries some smart substitution of ingredients when it comes to cooking a side dish or preparing a salad. Paste this list up in your kitchen so you can try it!”
Mary Jones presents 50 Foods Every Pregnant Woman Should Eat posted at Phlebotomy Technician Schools.
humor
Madeleine Begun Kane presents How To Plan A Trip (Humorous How-To) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
stay young from the inside out
DeMarcus presents Teaching Kids to Manage Anger posted at Self Improvement Articles.
Khan Ben presents Extreme Eyes Liner & Color Tips For All Ages posted at Women Weblog.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of staying young – from the inside out using our carnival submission form. Past posts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
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What the Old Bull Can Teach Us About Healthy Aging
Remember the ‘young bull and the old bull’ joke that was doing the rounds back in the days when you thought you were bulletproof? The two bulls were casting their eyes from afar over some very attractive heifers. The young bull said to the old bull, ‘Let’s race down there and make love to a few of those heifers’. The old bull advised, ‘Steady on. Let’s saunter down and make love to all of them’.
In his wisdom, the old bull realized that there was no need to hurry; just take things easy; there’s plenty of time.
The old bull’s wisdom can be applied to what we know about aging and the aging process. If you’ve reached fifty, the chances are pretty good that you’ll make it to your mid-eighties; and, thanks to medical advances and what we continue to learn about the power of attitude, beliefs, and the different kinds of fitness (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual), by the time we get to the mid-eighties, that number will have increased further. If we follow the advice of the old bull and slow down, we may reach a stage when we actually die of old age (instead of accidents and ailments).
This is not to say, of course, that people want to live for ever. The mythical Tithonas, finding that immortality wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be, begged the goddess Aurora to release him from his immortality. And during his travels, Gulliver discovered that the one thing the immortal Struldbrugs desired most was to die of old age.
In Australia, people are living longer. In 2003, 2500 centenarians received letters of congratulations from the Queen. And that number is doubling every 7-10 years. Or, if you prefer, longevity is increasing at about 3 months a year. Increasing numbers of people will live beyond a hundred (if they want to), and the chances are pretty good that you could be one of them.
In the blink of an eye, 60 years is fast becoming the new middle-age.
The big issue will be the quality of life during the extra years. More than 2,000 years ago, the philosopher Seneca observed that longevity without life quality was a waste of time. According to my research in writing my new book BLINK! The Speed of Life (How to add years to your life and life to your years) slowing down needs to be accompanied by three essential conditions-to love and be loved, to have something to do, and to have something to look forward to.
Sorry girls! I've had a lovely time, but Penelope's waiting for me at home.
Loving and being loved is more than following one’s instincts as the old bull did. Building and maintaining friendships and relationships are key activities. Aristotle considered building friendships the highest goal for humankind. Albert Schweitzer summarized the important function of everyday relationships when he said: ‘In everyone’s life at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then reignited by an encounter with another human being’.
Always having something to do requires staying active. In his poem ‘Ulysses’, Tennyson tells the story of Ulysses’ return from the Trojan War and his odyssey. Tennyson describes how Ulysses surveyed his kingdom of Ithaca – including his ship lying idle in the harbor – and realized that there was nothing to keep him at home. His son, Telemachus, was a ready-made successor. There was a world waiting to be explored, so Ulysses resolved to set out and ‘sail beyond the sunset’. Ulysses was the Grey Nomad of his era.
Always having something to look forward to is the essence of motivation.
Penelope waiting for Ulysses
One the best examples of the need to have something to look forward to was experienced by holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, who found that the key motivation for his (and others’) survival was the need to have something to look forward to. For Frankl that ‘something’ was to be reunited with his wife (although Frankl did not know it at the time, she had already perished in the gas chambers) and to resume his life as a psychiatrist. Others looked forward to the meal they would enjoy on release. Those who had nothing to look forward to acknowledged the hopelessness of their situation and smoked the cigarette they had been saving for their final moments.
The old bull got it partly right. Satisfaction can be achieved by slowing down. An essential ingredient, however, is ensuring quality of life. Longevity without life quality is a waste. The good news is that adding years to our lives and life to our years is well within our grasp.
Dr Neil Flanagan is an active participant in the aging process. He has found ways of adding years to your life and life to your years. His bestselling book BLINK! The Speed of Life has become a must-read for everyone interested in getting more life out of life. You can find the book @ http://www.neil.com.au
photo credit: the bull, Ulysses, Penelope waiting
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Interesting analogy Cheryl! I enjoyed this perspective.
Hey Nice inspiring post! I read other articles too. Cool blog! I subscribed to your RSS too.