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Tid-Bits of Aging
- Dr. Robert V. Gerard
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
When you are a senior citizen, you realize how much wisdom you have accumulated and how much time you have left to share it. There are so many things that you can write about aging that it would take several thousand pages. So, where do I begin?
I coalesce with aging, but it’s a pain in the neck, or better, it’s a pain in the ass. Aging bugs me to the extreme. Better yet, I should probably stop complaining since I’m running out of time. I decided to write tidbits of aging because it’s easy, it’s quick, and it’s not time-consuming.
What’s the difference between a baby’s face and an older person’s face? The answer is simple. It’s the nose. A baby is cute, you smile at it, and the nose is generally small and sweet. Then Grandpa or Grandma’s nose is quite funny-looking. It’s long, it’s big, it’s curly. That brings me to the notion of reincarnation. Do we really come and go? Do we have time to stop? Take a break in heaven or hell? Or is it just one cycle going back and forth, just accumulating wisdom?
I don’t know what’s real or not real anymore. You can’t trust the TV. You can’t trust the news. When you see a movie, you don’t know what’s real or make-believe. When you walk the streets today, everybody has a cell phone in front of their face. Is this the future for humans, where we have a cellphone face? Didn’t humankind once have a tailbone?
I went to bed last night thinking about how many great things I can write about. And when I woke up, it was all gone. So, what do I do to catch my memory? Put it in a sleeping bag?
I find aging to be a beautiful thing. Because it lets me reflect on my lovely life, and it also helps me remember the things that I should not have done, or those that I could have done better.
Aging is personal. You’re on your own. You’re really alone. And most of the time, you don’t even know what’s next. You plan. And forget your plan. And when you smile so hard that your face aches, that’s another problem. An aching body. Who needs it? I didn’t ask for it; it just came. When I look at a young person’s face, I see something special. And see how smooth and beautiful it is. Why can’t it stay that way? Then, I say, well, what happened to me? I didn’t plan it. But in reality, every face is beautiful regardless of age. When I feel good, healthy, and young, energy surges throughout my body.
Understand that one of the most incredible aspects of aging is that it allows you to come to terms with your true self. And when I pass and look into the mirror, I usually say, “Who’s that?” But now I have trained myself to respond with a smile and say, “Hi, there, Bob.”
Who am I really? Did I do well in this lifetime? Do I have time to fix things in my life? Or do I just let it go and say yeah? I’ll deal with it the next time around.
As you can easily see, there are millions of things you can write about the pros and cons of aging. But the bottom line is, it all comes back to you in this effortless moment. And the real question that I ask myself every day is, “Do I love who I am?” When the answer is yes, I feel good and energized. On the other hand, sometimes the answer is no, I don’t feel like being here anymore. As you can easily see, when you’re a senior citizen, every moment can move energy up, down, or around you—quickly. I remember as a young adult, my days were consistently changing, and it was manageable. As a senior, change can knock your socks off.
What bothers me a lot concerns my span of control at a younger age. I can easily handle 5 or 6 different tasks at the same time, returning to each one to complete and refine it. Now. If I attempt more than three activities together, I find that one of them might be a catastrophe. Good example. I was making a cup of coffee, setting the timer, and filling the water bottles up —all in Sync. My wife came over and asked me a question, and in that moment, I forgot about the coffee I was making and the water overflowing in the sink. The sad part was that it made a flood on the kitchen floor. Of course, I can clean it up. But it happened. And that’s a crucial point for senior citizens: how much can you really do simultaneously?
I find aging to be a gift. It gives me the time to absorb the true sense of reality. I seem to have lost this as I grew rapidly into young adulthood. But as you age, you take the time to reflect on your activities and creations. You’re putting more heart into things than you ever have before. It’s a great feeling.
I find myself, as a writer and author, that my mind has become much larger. And in some cases, even more hollow. I take things more seriously than I ever did before. I value life much more. I understand what respect is. And most critical to me as a senior citizen is the fact that enjoying Nature is most important, for it is Nature that reminds me of unity: with people, with our environment, and with our soul. It is Nature that brings me back to wholeness. When I sit on a park bench adjacent to the sea, I see the water, the sky, and the land in harmony. I feel part of it. So, the most challenging thing in life is to understand your reality. It’s about understanding and engaging with your environment. And most importantly, to have respect for others. And knowing all the time that our younger folks have a lot to learn.
So, my final words are to enjoy aging as much as possible. Don’t think of time, because it really can be seen as an illusion. We don’t need to measure or have birthdays and cake. What we truly desire is peace, good health, and the ability to receive love from our family.
Do whatever you can to keep your mind, heart, and body in harmony. Stay active as much as possible, as movement is the key to awareness. When you move, you know. You know your muscles, you know the food you eat, you know the people you talk to, and you know where you spend your precious time.
Several months ago, I passed my 80th. And I said to myself, “OK. What cause can I get into? What will make me feel like flying in life? What is it that I want to create? I don’t care how. All I need to know is to enjoy life and pursue something bigger than myself.
Dr. Robert V. Gerard
Copyright © 2025 Robert V Gerard
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Article 1189 words [ 18 Oct 2025 ]
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