It's Not Over 'Til the Centenarian Sings

          UnitedHealthCare recently conducted a study with centenarians, those people 100 years and older, along with a companion survey of baby boomers. The centenarians said that, on average, they felt like they were 83 years old, while the 65-year-old baby boomers felt a full 10 years younger at 55. 


My friend Judy's Aunt Rose. Closing in on 100.

          Expressing how centenarians felt about being 100, 35% felt “blessed,” 31% “happy” and  12% “surprised.” No one expressed feelings of sadness or of being burdened; only 3% said they felt lonely.  I found it very encouraging that 53% of centenarians lived independently without daily caregiver support.

          I’m cheered by these numbers and a little bit surprised about the positive outlook of older people who face more loss than any other group of aging adults. In spite of more significant and debilitating health restrictions and a greater loss of friends, family members, and spouses, centenarians remain upbeat and very much wanting to participate in life – “I can’t get around much anymore, but I’m still alive and that’s a very good thing,” is a point of view expressed often by these elders.

          I wonder how I’d feel about being a centenarian. It looks like a lot depends on attitude. Our youth-oriented culture paints a fairly drab and discouraging picture of old age. Heck, old age for many is anything 40 and older. That’s not even middle age for a centenarian.

          Whether I live to be 100 or not I know I better beef up my positive attitude, preserve relationships with friends and family, participate is healthy practices (my nemesis), and be as active as I can be.

          It’s not over ‘til it’s over and there is a possibility of you becoming a centenarian. What will your tune be if you make it to this ripe old age?

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Must We Always Act Our Age?

          I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life. George Burns
         


          Age is a state of mind. If that is true, must we always act our age? I don't think so!

          “What? Didn’t she just go over this age thing a couple of weeks ago?”

          Yes, I was thrilled to celebrate my 65^th birthday earlier this month. I spoke of sharing the birth date with Martin Luther King and shifting my ‘Use by…’ date to 81 years old. But I didn’t talk about how our attitudes about getting older age us. I didn’t talk about those little habits of things we say and do that scoot us into walkers much faster than necessary.

          The Handbook of Religion and Health by Koenig, et al, indicates that people who have a regular religious attendance or practice live, on average, 7 years longer than those who don’t. There are things we can do to make the best use of those extra years.

          I was pleased last fall to attend a workshop at the Center for Spiritual Living . The speaker was Rev. Chris Michaels from the Kansas City Center for Spiritual Living.  Our two Centers are closely aligned and  Rev. Chris visits us often. He sometimes travels with us to foreign countries when our Center organizes spiritual excursions to places like Bali. I have spent some time with him on one of these trips and he is a cool guy. He tells it like he sees it and people listen because he’s right on. He is not even close to being a senior citizen but he isn’t a young pup either.

          A friend and I attended his workshop entitled “Aging as a Spiritual Practice” and found Chris’ perceptions and his take on how our ways of thinking can age us faster than the clock. Chris points out that our spirits are the true essence of who we are, not our bodies. Spirit is ageless, timeless and deathless. Yet we continually remind ourselves and others that we are becoming more limited physically and/or mentally as time goes on. How many times have you said, as I have, “Oh, I forgot that because I’m having a senior moment,” or “I used to be able to do that longer…or faster…or better….”? How often do we buy into a youthful society’s message that says if you’re over 30 you’re not worth very much? We’re the first people to limit ourselves by believing and integrating these attitudes as we get older.

          Yes, our bodies are flesh that does deteriorate over time, but there’s nothing more limiting than