Column: Myron On Ageing, Longevity & Legacy
[Column written by Martha Harris Myron]
Today is the day. You turn 80, decades and decades longer than you ever thought you would live in this endlessly fascinating world of ours.
So, what do you do to celebrate? There is the thought of the usual happy media-compelling consumer enticements.
You know: maybe some golden bling trinkets, a golden trip, a large golden celebration, and in my case, some beautiful golden shoes. Trendy footwear has been an obsession since childhood where we had one pair of flip-flops, the hated school uniform shoes, and our preference, barefoot most of our early days.
Absolutely nothing wrong with any of those choices. Juxtaposed with those happy thoughts, there is sadness.
A mourning of what was: mistakes in judgement and regrets for decisions made – too late to be reversed.
Losing precious friends and family who have gone before, while with others who are still physically here, seeing their awareness of their charismatic personages slowly slipping away into never-neverland. I tell you it is deeply distressing in seeing those bright lights diminish.
The influences that those dear people brought into our lives is a reminder of our interconnectedness, sharpening our remembrance of those many years before.
So, then, you reflect on you. How lucky am I to end up where I am today.
Goldsta-Oldsta80 time can be so invigorating. Our eight decades of learned living skills have been honed to the highest level. We embrace the amazing clarity in realistic thought, in acute awareness of the value of our people and environment surrounding us.
It releases all the self-doubt of oneself and the implicit decades-long inner pressure to compare ourselves to others; how do we measure up; do they like me; am I wearing the right attire; do I fit in; do I have enough money, the right house, the best car, and on and on.
We know who we are. We no longer need affirmation. Actually, we never needed it, but who among us didn’t wade through multiple periods of self-doubt, envy, and feelings of failure by comparing ourselves to others – deemed better, more successful in our minds.
Now that we have reached the age of illumination, we know exactly what success means to us. We have become startlingly perceptive of being in the now; free of all personal insecurities because we realize that our inner success was always there – just waiting to be captured in a sparkling golden aura of dream realization.
We have become astutely aware of how very vulnerable personally others may be, regardless of the age group. Our close personal relationships become more intense. We treasure and love very deeply those still with us, particularly our dear spouses, partners, family, and friends.
We embrace their trueness, their value and their incredible love, loyalty, and commitment to us. We now realize our own trueness. In the Golden Age of Illumination, the potential of the future still awaits for any of us to leave an other-than-monetary legacy.
Still time to freely use our own amazing capacity to care, to reach out, nurture, mentor and affirm others. Still time to continue our mission to follow our dreams and support/encourage others to follow theirs. Still time to spread the joy of still being here. It costs nothing, but the reward is priceless.
Make life count, every single day.
- Martha Harris Myron
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