A current article at MSNBC asks: “What does middle age mean these days?” and answers that question with a rosy review of a new book called: Redesigning 50 by Oz Garcia.
There’s a lot of truth here, in my opinion. The part I relate to the most is about how we deal mentally with the aging process:
“Do we even know what middle age means anymore? If you’re anywhere near the age of fifty, you probably remember that the mantra of the 1960s was “Don’t trust anyone over the age of thirty.” When we were teenagers, we thought that thirty marked the beginning of middle age. I know I did. But now, having passed the thirty-year marker many years ago, I’m no longer sure how to define middle age. Old definitions no longer apply. Middle-aged women are now having babies. Men and women in their sixties and seventies are climbing mountains, traveling into outer space, and making greater achievements than are many of their more youthful counterparts. In today’s world, middle age is no longer a stage of life to be dreaded or feared, but one that we can fully enjoy and embrace.
Aging takes most of us by surprise. We look in the mirror one day, or get up out of a chair, or try to do something we used to do effortlessly — and suddenly we realize that we’ve actually gotten older. That’s what happened to me. Even though I don’t always want to admit it, I have started to experience the universal signs of reaching a certain … maturity. I need reading glasses. I can’t run at the same pace or with the same stamina I used to. It’s become a little more difficult to regulate my weight.
I’ve started to ask myself questions. What can I do now and for the rest of my life to make the coming years as good as those that have passed? Do I need to worry about health concerns that some have called the diseases of aging? And how do I not only remain healthy but feel good — and look good, too?”
I find most of what is said in this article to be true. For example, many midlifers do suffer from adrenal exhaustion and the detriments of too much caffeine and alcohol. etc., especially if you are dealing with a chronic illness like CFS. I can also highly recommend the Life Extension Foundation and their magazine (www.lef.org) for useful, cutting edge research on ways to enjoy the second half of life more. I wrote an extensive research report for them on CFS (which they never published!)
The only problem I see with this kind of information, is the tone of it, which can suggest to those of us who struggle with chronic pain or illness, that we are just a bunch of stupid slobs who haven’t seen the light yet, and “fixed” ourselves.
I salute people like Mike Wallace from “60 Minutes” who will turn 90 this week, and is still working hard. My own father is going to be 80 next year, and still shows great dedication to researching and writing books on botany. (Trees and Shrubs of Colorado)
Aging is obviously a very individual experience. The challenge is continuing to believe that you have excellent and exciting reasons to get up every day, and do what makes you happy, at any age.
