Aging
- SidLinx
- Jan 13
- 4 min read
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” - Mark Twain.
Aging is an issue we all face every day of our lives. In our youth and young adulthood aging is filed in the recess of our minds, our thoughts are dominated by education, sport, adapting to the responsibilities of adulthood and our hormones. In middle age our lives are settled with families and careers. At retirement age, health issues, sufficient wealth, or not, are at the heart of our lives.
Senior Health
I am 70 dealing with the impact of aging. I have had to adjust my work and lifestyle according to what my body allows. For 65 years I took my health for granted. When I turned 70 in 2024, overnight it seemed as though age, finally mattered to my body. As a child I was sent off to a health camp, I assume to help me put on weight, I was considered too skinny for my age. Personal visits to a hospital in those 60 years occurred twice, once as a child for stitching of a gash in my arm, the other as a middle-aged adult for a kidney stone.
During covid I felt a lump on the right side of my neck. I was fortunate to arrange an appointment with my GP in late September 2020. Three weeks later I was diagnosed with cancer. Late November the first chemo session happened. In the first week of January 2021 the last radiation appointment took place. The third week of April 2022 brought good news, the doctor from the radiation oncology department, stated tests showed the chemo and radiation treatment with surgery had proved successful. Except for a follow up appointment in 5 years time, treatment was at an end. Months later I was still feeling twinges where the lump was located.
At the beginning of 2025 I feel grateful to have had the treatment provided by the professionals, nurses and doctors, in our country’s health system. Compared to the United States, New Zealand citizens have access to a free public health service that provides treatment in a timely manner for health issues as serious as cancer. Our health system has flaws, but every citizen is entitled to be treated regardless of one’s situation in life.
Adapting
Whether it is due to covid or to chemotherapy and radiation, I continue to have health issues. My hearing is at 69% and I have tinnitus due to cancer treatment. I suffer from sinus and require daily rinses with steroid to manage it. Is the sinus due to covid or cancer, who knows, but aging must have something to do with it. I have a part-time courier job one day a week. I enjoy the driving; it keeps me in touch with the commercial world. I golf often, at the range and on the course.
Golf and driving, I have to manage both activities, due to twinges I feel in various parts of my aging body. For years I walked 18 holes carrying my golf bag, I now walk nine holes still carrying my bag but with 5 less clubs in it. My driving job, for years as a senior I drove 2 days a week, after covid I dropped to one day a week. At some point this year, 2025, I will cease being a courier and hand my notice. It is adapting my life according to what my body is capable of in my senior years.
Exercise and Food
YouTube is a godsend. I follow the same coaches, their videos, for my stretching, walking and weights exercise. I try to exercise 3 days a week. The benefits from exercise are well documented, personally it is medicine, sending endorphins to boost me for the day. My goal is to lead an active life for as many years as possible, exercise is a major contributor toward it.
Food, my appetite is still strong. I follow no diet; I eat what I like when I like. My philosophy with food is all about enjoyment. I do eat more fruit and vegetables and have a taste for chicken and beef curries. I have always enjoyed deserts, which will continue. I do not smoke, drink alcohol or take illicit drugs, food will continue to be my pleasure. There are commentators who suggest some foods are not healthy for seniors after a certain age. For me, I am happy for the trade off that food brings me without being burdened by any detriments.
Supplements for various ailments I have not yet considered. I have used them several times in years gone by. It was difficult to assess their value when younger and in good health. I will try some multi-vitamins in future, possibly turmeric among them.
Final Thoughts
At certain points in our lives age matters. For us seniors, health matters above all else. Without good health, life can be burdensome. The good health of our body and mind helps us enjoy life with our partners, families, friends and those personal activities that bring us joy. A strong sense of self matters as we age, as does the social lives we lead. Preparing financially for retirement matters. If like myself and millions of others here and in many other countries are not financially independent, good health and a keen sense of self, your own values and beliefs, will more than compensate for your lack of a healthy bank balance.
Age is indeed an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. Well said Mark Twain.
Who I Follow on YouTube
Comentarios