Seniors Are the Santa
Claus
Today’s "new
seniors" are so much different from their parents or grandparents in both
attitude and behavior. Many of today’s older adults (regardless of their age)
are quite removed from the stereotypical senior citizens of yesterday.
According to U.S. News & World Report, "What is important about
this generation is its difference, not only in size, but also in vitality and
outlook."
“There are four stages to life: 1.
As a child, you believe in Santa Claus. 2. Then, you don’t believe in Santa
Claus. 3. As you age, you look like Santa Claus. 4. Finally, you “think” you are
Santa Claus.” Anonymous
Golden Years and Santa Claus.
To many seniors, the meaning of “golden years” may mean doing nothing—basking in the warm
sunshine on a beach, going to a teahouse every morning to have dim sum,
and growing older and older until the ultimate end. To them, retirement is a
predictable way of life—you just join the senior crowd, and grow old just like
everyone else.
Byr growing old is not that simple. Life is not simple, and has never been
simple. Life is always unpredictable, with all the ups and downs. Living does not follow any
predictable pattern, and that there is absolutely no roadmap to meet all the
different life challenges. They are very much individualized. For one to
survive, one needs to hold onto some basic life tools in the form of knowledge
and information, as well as to make the best and the most of them in order to
meet one’s many unique life challenges. Therefore, how others have solved their
problems may not help you solve your own because you are walking on a life
journey that is uniquely yours.
Life comes in different stages, and each stage is full of
its own challenges. Growing up and growing old are two of the greatest
challenges in life, because both of which require great courage to overcome
uncertainties and fears of the unknown. Maybe growing up is less of a
challenge compared to that of growing old, because the former has the luxury of
time, while the latter has time constraint. If time is not for you, but against
you, the challenge may seem even more daunting and insurmountable. In between
these two major challenges, there is, of course, a host of other obstacles and
problems. Life is not a bed of roses, and never meant to be one.
Living is all about
struggling. The good news is that growing old is a human race in which there
are no winners and no losers. No matter what, we all have to finish that race
somehow, with no exception. Just do your best, and let God do the rest to help
you finish your race with grace and dignity.
Many seniors wither away, like
dead branches on a living tree. To many seniors, old age is growing older and
getting more senile and decrepit with each day passing; it is a predictable
pattern in the cycle of life. Indeed, many have seen their enthusiasm for life
waning day by day. Those who live a purposeful and passionate life in their
golden years, finishing strong and dying gracefully, are few and far between.
How sad, and yet how true! But going through the golden years doesn’t have to
be like that. Joy and aging can, surprisingly, go hand in hand, if you have the
know-how. This book purports to provide you with information to help you do
just that—living a joyous life in your golden years, full of meaning and
purpose, just like Santa Claus.
Life is always a discovery process, even more so in the
golden years. It is a journey of self-discovery—finding what you need, and
finding ways to meet your needs, so that you can fulfill some of your life
goals even in your golden years. Continue your aging with joy, finishing the
last journey with grace and dignity. No matter how bumpy and hurtful this
journey may become, make your golden years a time to laugh, rather than a time
to weep and worry.
Michelangelo, the famous Italian painter and sculptor, once commented on
his own aging: “Since life was such a pleasure, death coming from the same
great source cannot displease us.” Maybe that is how you should view your own
golden years ahead of you—a time for joy.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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