Life Gets Easier

Some parts of life—mowing the lawn, moving furniture, and

so
on—get harder and harder as we age. But life itself tends to
get
“The great misconception younger people have is that older
people are unhappy because of their age or that they spend
their
who is old enough now to include himself among his subjects
of
in effect younger than your age. And you can live your life in
such
a way that your body is older than your age. So there is no
way you
strate resilience and recover from difficulties in their lives
that is
easier. As we age, we tend to find deeper meaning in the
things that
truly matter to us. Take comfort in the thought that the most
important things are getting easier, not harder.
time wishing they were younger,” says Jon Harris, a
gerontologist
study.
“Instead,” Jon says, “age is really a blurry indicator of life
quality.
“Physically, you can live your life in such a way that your
body is
should feel at any particular age. It varies tremendously.
“Mentally, you can see that older folks have a capacity to
demon-
equal to or most often exceeds that of younger people. There
is an
inner fortitude that comes with experience, that comes with
perspective.
And it is one of the talents of our more senior citizens.”
Research on people over sixty revealed that six in ten
showed increased optimism, less stress, and an increased
appreciation of others as they got older.
strates our own humanity to us, and it offers us a wonderful
oppor-
Give of yourself to others because it is the greatest gift you
can give
to yourself.
Frank has a simple explanation for the finding that at least
half
of people over age fifty spend part of their week
volunteering:
volunteering in the Consumer Protection Division of the
Maryland
two, it helps me.”
Frank deals with citizens who have had consumer disputes
with
area companies. Frank takes their information and tries to
work.