I recently wrote a friend a birthday note suggesting that upon turning 60, that:
“Now as a member of the 60's generation and formerly as a member of the then 60's generation, I must only suggest that if you can remember the 60's you really weren't there, and that your memory will surely be the first thing to go…”
His response was excellent..where he wrote that another friend “ a young un” in his 50’s, had written him and “who compared the grace of aging to the majesty of redwood trees -- and then thanked me for planting them.”
Aging gracefully is a major goal of mine, and seems to be related to how I interpret and react to events in my life. Also important: Keeping mentally active:
Dr. Michael Merzenich, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco, says the key is keeping up the brain's machinery for learning... Unless you work on it, brain fitness often begins declining at around age 30 for men, a bit later for women. "People mistake being active for continuous learning," Merzenich says. "The machinery is only activated by learning. People think they're leading an interesting life when they haven't learned anything in 20 or 30 years. My suggestion is learn Spanish or the oboe."
Posted by: Matthew Cornell | September 18, 2007 at 08:01 AM