aging

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Getting Old Doesn’t Have To Be A Slow Decline

There is more than one way to get old, but there is only one way that will slow the aging process.

Getting old doesn't have to be a slow decline.

And I’m not talking about some skin product that will keep you looking like you’re 45. Even after you start collecting your pension.

There are people who look old and then there are people who act old. Acting old is a sure way to get old faster. But acting younger, I believe, will keep you from getting old.

They say you are only as old as you feel and I think there is something to that.

Recently my wife, Lily, and I were on a Caribbean cruise. It was an amazing two weeks weather-wise. While our neighbours were piling snow to heights they could barely reach, Lily and I were soaking up the 28° Celsius air on one of the seven islands we visited.

When I told one of the guys I play hockey with about the trip, he laughed and said, “What I find funny is that you’re almost 70 and you said all the people on the ship were old.” 

But it was true. It seemed like 90% of the people on board were over 80.  

If we happened to see a couple in their 30’s or a family with children, we sat up and commented, “Hey look, there are young people on this cruise!”

Everywhere we went on board the ship I was stuck behind some old person walking like they should be in a nursing home with a walker.

I know that most people looked at Lily and I and thought we fit in just fine. But to me people seemed way older. 

I know I would not have enjoyed a ship that was filled with kids running wild and free. However, I think it would have been nice if we were the old ones on the cruise rather than being on the younger side. 

… Which brings me to the point I want to make about staving off aging.

I think you just have to keep doing things that you’ve always done. Don’t stop because you’re getting older. 

I still play hockey 3 to 4 times a week and don’t have any intention of stopping. 

When someone says, “I hope I can still play when I’m your age”, I tell them to keep playing now and they’ll be able to later.

I’m still doing the activities I did in my thirties: I play hockey, mountain bike, and play golf. 

Recently I tried pickle ball and I think I’ll play that again. I laughed at myself getting frustrated when I missed shots. In my head I thought I should make all the shots, even though it’s been about 35 years since I played racket sports.

Hang out with people younger than you. Try new things and don’t quit doing what you did when you were young. 

That’s my theory for slowing the aging process. 

Here’s the thing: It is interesting that in the Bible God often refers to people as children. God sees us as young, flexible, moldable, in a posture of learning. If we become old it becomes harder for us to transform into the image God desires for us. We get stuck and begin to put God off. Don’t get old in your mind; stay young and available for God to do great things in you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What can you do to slow down the aging process? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Major Milestone Check, But Let’s Keep Going

I hit a major milestone last week, but in many ways it’s just like any other marker on the journey. 

major milestone check but let's keep going

I’m not sure you do this, but my wife for sure does it when we travel. She takes notice of the exit numbers on the highway. I’m not sure how they work anywhere else in the world, but along the 400 highway system in Ontario the exit numbers represent a kilometre number. 

So if you take the 667 exit off the 401, you are 667 kilometres from where the 401 starts in Windsor.

Every exit is a mileage marker. You always know where you are on the highway because of those exits. They kind of work like milestones when you know what the exit numbers means. 

You can be traveling an hour on the highway but, when you see an exit number, you know how far you’ve gone and how far you need to go.

I never used to pay much attention to the exit numbers but Lily has tuned me in to them. Once you get it in your head, you can’t help but mentally check off a chunk of your trip as you pass them. 

What we don’t think much about, however, is that there are other mileage markers along the highway every kilometre. They are not advertised and they don’t stand out like the big exit signs. These mileage markers are just small green blades with numbers on them – mileage numbers calculated from the beginning of the highway.

We pass those mileage markers quickly when we are traveling 120 km/hr down the 401. But most of us don’t pay attention to them; we don’t even really notice them at all. 

They go by so fast that they are virtually unnoticeable. Yet when we pass by one of those exit signs, we realize we’ve travelled quite a distance. 

It’s much like aging. 

We have days, months, years that go by pretty fast and regularly, yet often times we don’t take too much notice of them. 

It’s not until we hit one of those milestones that we start to think, “Wait a minute. I’ve really covered quite a distance.” 

Last week I passed a milestone. I turned 65. 

It was kind of like noticing the big exit sign. Mind you, I have no intention of taking the exit at this point. 

Leading up to this milestone, I’ve passed mileage marker after mileage marker. 

They go by quickly.

We travel at high speeds. 

In reality, other than the fact that the exit sign is advertised several kilometres before you get there, and when you do, there is a big sign with the exit number on it, it’s really just another mileage blade marker. 

… And you pass by it as fast as you do any other mileage marker on the highway. 

It’s a blip and then it is gone. Maybe that is best so we don’t dwell on that milestone too long and take the exit. 

Here’s the thing: We move through life at high speeds. The older we get, the more we realize the speed at which we travel. It is important, therefore, to make wise decisions along the way. The best decision I’ve ever made was to put my faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of my sin and for eternal life. The result is that I don’t carry guilt with me and I am looking forward with certainty to spending eternity in heaven when this life comes to a halt. I hope you do the same.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What milestone are you coming up to? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Reflecting On Your Life Is The Start Of A Change

Today, after I got home from the rink, I was reflecting on my play. 

reflecting on your life

It wasn’t my most stellar day on the ice: in the first shift I ran into one of my teammates by the boards and fell down. In two attempts to get up, I fell or almost fell over again. 

Some of the guys I’ve played with for years got concerned. They know I’ve had a heart attack … and that it happened playing hockey … though that was seven years ago. 

Several guys asked me if I was alright, and suggested that I should sit on the bench for a bit. 

I knew that I was fine, but I did feel a little embarrassed that I had trouble getting back up on my feet.

If I had a video of me playing pickup with the boys last year at this time, and compared it to video of my game today, I think it would show a huge difference.

I’ve lost a few really noticeable steps in my game, and in only one year.

It’s similar to watching a movie you like over and over again for years. Then when the actor makes a new movie, you notice, “Wow. They’ve all of a sudden really aged.” 

You were so used to seeing them at the age they were when the first movie came out that it’s a shocker to see them in their present state.

The Bourne movies are like that for me. There were three movies that came out over the course of three years: Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, and Bourne Ultimatum.

They are probably my favourite movies of all time. I’ve watched them over and over.

Then, about nine years later, they made another Bourne movie that was simply called, “Jason Bourne”.

Wow, what a difference! The actor, Matt Damon, had really aged in that one. He still had some of his brilliance from the earlier movies, but he was a little more ragged. 

We don’t see the aging process in the movies. The actors are stuck in time; they seem timeless.

Oh, but not me; I’ve aged. I’m only one year older than last year, but I feel like I’m five years older on the ice.

For me it’s not a time trick or a movie illusion. As I was reflecting on it today, for me it’s my knee.

My knee has been causing me problems (I wrote about it here) and has then made my on-ice experience more complicated.

Because my knee has been weak, I haven’t exercised much. I’ve also cut down on how much hockey I play this year. Those are two things that degrade my play.

But there is another spinoff effect and that is, I’ve gained weight. I’m about 10 pounds heavier than last year at this time and, for me, that’s a big deal when skating.  

Because my knee has been sore, I’ve not exercised and, because I’ve not exercised, I’ve gained weight. 

So today, reflecting on all these issues have made me feel like I’ve aged several years on the ice. 

Somehow I need to roll back the time.

Here’s the thing: If there’s something in your life that you’re putting off dealing with, something that you think you don’t need to make right with God at this time, beware that it might not take long before your life shows signs of problems in other areas because of one area you refused to make right with God. Don’t make that mistake. At present, you may be showing more than your age.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to take to God right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Why Aging Gives You New Perspectives And Opportunities

What goes around comes around, and when it comes to aging there is a lot of that going around. I just started playing hockey at 6 am Saturday mornings (there are still a few spots if anyone’s interested), and believe me, I didn’t think I would like it … but I do!

aging_process_man

Back when I was growing up, 6 am games were the worst. I hated having to get up in the dark, still half asleep, barely able to put my equipment on in the correct order. Those games were murder.

Then, as a father, I hated having to take my son to 6 am practices – mid-week, if you could believe it – adding the hassle of trying to get him to school on time after practice.

Part of the reason I hated 6 am games or practices was I didn’t like being stirred from my warm, comfortable bed, only to be jolted awake by the cold of the arena.

I never minded playing late at night; in fact, it didn’t matter if there was ice at 10pm, midnight or 1 in the morning – I was up for it. But now I don’t like playing hockey at night. It gets to be around 8:30 pm and I start debating whether I really want to play or not.

You have to understand it’s not as simple as playing the game, coming home and going to bed. No … it doesn’t work that way. You are so juiced up on adrenaline after a game that you are way too wired to go to bed.

In my late teens, my brother and I would come home from hockey practice at 1 am and sit in the kitchen making milkshakes and discussing the practice for another hour.  That’s a killer, for getting up in the morning.

A couple of years ago, I relented on my “no night hockey” policy because I had a chance to play with my son, Mike. The games were only at 9 pm but we weren’t getting to bed until after midnight. Morning came awfully early.

With this 6 am hockey now, somehow waking up at 5:15 am to get there isn’t that big a deal for me. It’s way easier than thinking about playing at nine at night.

This morning, for instance, I played and was home before 7:30 am. I had a full day ahead of me, though I did take a bit of a nap later in the morning.

I’ve gone full circle. I used to hate morning hockey and now I love it. And it’s all because of aging. It’s given me a new perspective on when to play hockey.

I talk to lots of people who are down on getting older. They warn me of the hazards and hindrances (I’ve even experienced some), but I’m trying not to look at my life from the perspective of when I was a young adult. My current perspective has opened up some new opportunities for me.

Here’s the thing:  As you age, you may not be willing to serve God the way you once did. Our tendency is to look at service from the perspective of the past and think we are done serving.  But with age comes a new perspective and that will open up new opportunities to serve God in ways you never before thought of as possibilities.

That’s life!

Paul

Question: How has your aging changed your perspective on what you do or how you serve God? Leave your comment below.