Cheer Up!

An octogenarian in clean but tattered saffron clothes, visits our home once in two weeks. He sings Kannada Dasa songs, dances in ecstasy and accepts whatever we offer. He demands nothing.  He has no possessions except his tattered bag, full of prasad from various temples he visits. He is fragile, bent, old and quite forgetful, but tireless and always cheerful.

Four or five days a month, he travels to far off  temples on piligrimage by train and night buses. Two weeks in a year he goes to Banaras or Badrinath. Rest of the time he is on his feet wearing a pair of worn-out flip-flops (rubber chappals), covering a radius of four to five kms . Come rain or shine we can hear the melodious rings of the bronze discs in his hands, and open our doors to him.

I often wonder what drives this man. Poverty is written all over him, yet the radiant smile that greets everyone, never vanishes from his face. I am sure it is his devotion to the Supreme Being. An interest in life keeps him going.

We meet so many retired people who lock themselves up in their home, complaining of some malady or other and never venture out unless some work is involved. Many feel vacant, useless and feel neglected by everyone. Such people get depressed, develop an inferiority complex and often try covering it up with anger or arrogance. This is the reason they lose interest in going out or meeting people, and people lose interest in them.

Most of us seniors have lived a full and responsible life. The silver age is the time to sit back and enjoy. Dale Carnegie says - "Little things worry us and eat us up like a giant tree, which has withstood the onslaught of thunder, lightning and storms, but is eaten up by small beetles''.

We must cultivate the habit of taking small irritants lightly. Many times situations don't make us happy or unhappy but how we react to it does. So whatever happens around us, we must try and learn to take it lightly and only then can we relax. Living in joint family or alone, in life's December, one must become very selfish when it comes to anything that affects one's peace of mind. Detachment seems to be the tool. 

So how do we practice the detachment which Hindu Dharma preaches? It does not mean detaching oneself from the family and becoming a Sanyasi. Sanyas is not merely wearing orange clothes. It means detached attachment. Not reacting to circumstances and controlling our thoughts and mind. Watch or witness the circumstances like a third person. Learn to enjoy beauty in all His creations. Be it a flower, architecture or an innocent child's laughter.  
Most seniors allow their mind and body to deteriorate with negative thoughts and inactivity. When a bicycle is lying in the garage for a year, it collects rust and does not function unless the rust is removed, and the bike is serviced. Our mind and body are similar to it. We must keep our body and mind in tune by exercising the body and activating the mind.
Keep the mind engaged in some activity or hobby like:

1. Reading
2. Writing
3. Music
4. Painting
5. Photography
6. Calligraphy
7. Traveling
8. Collecting rare items
9. Repairing things at home
10. Cooking
11. Prayers, Meditation, Chanting
12. Cleaning
13. Chopping vegetables                      
14. Gardening
15. Light sport, Yoga etc.
16. Travelling.
17. Bird watching.
18. Boating.
19. Walking. 

You can be a real help to your loving spouse by helping with daily chores. There is no shame in it. In fact, it is very touching to see an elderly couple helping each other.
The list of things to do that can bring back the vitality to your life is endless. But the best thing to do is go back in memory to your school days and recollect what your hobby was at the time and try to pursue it. The whole point is to retain the mental faculty without deterioration. There is no age limit for learning. There are language classes all around. One could pick up any one of them and join. This way one meets lots of people and gets to interact. Otherwise it is very easy to be stuck alone at home and go into depression, Dementia, senility and Alzheimer's.
Beware! This does not mean competing with youngsters, but accepting one’s age and proceeding accordingly. Using our will power we must stop failing health. Daily practice of Pranayama and Yogasana gives seniors a new lease of life and teaches one to face each day happily. Dean Hawkes says - "For every ailment under the sun there is a remedy, or there is none. If there be one, try to find it; if there be none; never mind it.''

Keeping oneself active and cheerful is the secret of good life in the silver age.