Thursday, July 24, 2008

George Carlin's View on Aging


This brilliant 'email forward' came to me via Peajay; so, as I've been neglectful here of late, I thought I'd share this quick post (instead of working on my uni. paper!) :)

"Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life .. . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 andMAKE it to 60.You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name isAlzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next state; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

5 comments:

That Hideous Man said...

Staying young??! The chances of success are about the same as King Canute and the tide!

We have enshrined the cult of youth in our culture, because we can't deal with our mortality.

We spend billions trying to be young, on fashions, cosmetics, surgery and lifestyle, because our culture bombards us with the message that significance is related to youthfulness.

Societies which on the other hand value age, and enshrine wisdom rather than sex at the centre of their value systems, waste less of their incomes on the pursuit of lost youth.

The elderly in the UK are frequently dismissed, ignored and not treated with the dignity that they deserve. This is, I am sure, beacuse youth recoils at the sight of what it will oh-so-soon become.

Pam said...

i love his tips on how to stay young. i've been practicing most on the list...some are still an issue w me LOL

Kayce aka lucy said...

i love these tips for life...not simply for staying young :-) thanks for sharing them!!

Les (Endlessly Restless) said...

I think the one tip I would add is to remember to play. I forget too often. Actually, I think we go through a stage of choosing not to play, working too much. Then, if we embrace play, we become young again. Young at heart that is - not wrinkle free (at least not in my case!)

His Girl Friday said...

Hi HM
I do agree with you that our culture is way too focused on "youth and sex".

Unfortunately, they've missed the point...physical youthfulness is transitory; it's the 'spirit' of youthfulness, the heart of a child, that keeps us 'young'; as for the other, that is also transitory, and why the moving on to the next partner, and ex-relationships...everyone staying shallow and selfish. It's the intimacy and friendship in a relationship that counts, the other is just icing on the cake.

The elderly do deserve our respect, and there's much to be gleaned from their experiences and wisdom.


Hi Ciara, Lucy, and ER,
thanks for your comments, as well. It is a lifestyle mindset, and one that is easily forgotten when we're in the work/task mode.

ER,
ah, wrinkles are ok, shows all the living and laughing you've been doing!!! :D