by Susan Harris
OUR CRAZY WORLD — Many people are insulted when they receive their invitation to join AARP. Who feels like a senior citizen at 55? I refused a senior discount the first time someone offered; refusing to FEEL old is a good beginning to refusing to BE old. When you relax into being decrepit, the end is in sight.
Your attitude determines much of what’s possible for you. First, you aren’t a statistic. The Coronavirus may not affect you at all, it may make you sick, or it may end your journey. Anyone of any age can die. Anyone can become or remain well.
You know you aren’t immortal. Granted, the dire predictions advise you to think seriously about what you would like to tidy up before you go. Tell the ones you love how you feel, tie up loose ends, finish whatever it is you want to finish. Then, whether you live another twenty years or only weeks, you don’t have to worry that you’ve left a mess. You controlled what you could.
Worry is your enemy. As the old saying goes, it’s like rocking in a rocking chair: it requires effort but doesn’t take you anywhere. If you want to stack the odds in your favor, concentrate on what you love about life.
If you aren’t too sick, use your quarantine to indulge yourself doing things that make you smile—art, music, hobbies—or finally taking the time to label old photographs or write family memories. What do you want the unborn to know about those who came before?
Try learning from seminars available on your computer. In the meantime, take care of yourself as you once took care of others—feed yourself clean, healthy food, take walks or practice tai chi outside, call old friends and family just to talk. The healthier and happier you are, the more likely you are to be one of the ones who’ll be telling future generations about those scary times in 2020.
