How do you want to age gracefully!

“Dad, what happens to the wild animals we see around after they die?” What she learnt that day is that when their time comes near, they retreat in the depths of the forest and fade away in solitary.

“But what happens to humans then?” As usual she was persistent. Dad replied, “If they don’t age gracefully, they too fade away in solitary.”

Growing old v/s ageing

While stress is the main contributor to ageing, it is also the reason for weight gain and overthinking. Stress affects health and the way we look. Urban life is stressful, for all. So how to people age gracefully versus start looking old and stressed out.

The secret lies in taking care of the stress. Individual stress factors have to be taken out of your life. Because stress is the main reason that will present you to live a life beyond 40.

Stress will not take care by itself, you have to take the bull by the horns to gain control.

Stress contributes to an early death.

You have no choice other than being happy

With age comes wisdom and the serene smile of Buddha whenever confronted with a situation. Growing old is the ability to see through a problem much better than the younger members of the family. The head of the family is always the eldest, not necessarily as a stereotype but because of the wisdom angle.

So what happens if an elderly person takes over the responsibilities without the abilities. That’s where you see large families fall apart.

There is only one body and that is the vessel

We Indians love to eat. Literally every social, cultural or religious event is centered around food. Then we also get surprised on how we add inches to our waist line. Food abuse is most common because there is no taboo attached to it. Doctors and medicine makers assure us that there is a pill for all our health problems. Eating brings in metabolic syndrome which leads to lifestyle diseases like high BP, high cholesterol, high sugar and weight gain.

But eating is not just the only problem. Medical experts advise daily physical exercise. Walking, running, gym, yoga, meditation, all of these have the potential to keep your body fit and drive the stress away. Any physical exercise works. A nature walk or hike once a week will help rejuvenate your body.

Epilogos

The word epilogue comes from Greek word epilogos which was used by Greek writers and poets as a final speech of a literature work.

“So do I need to take a lot of care of my body!” Her dad could sense the end of conversation coming near. “Not just that, you need to keep an eye on all changes happening as you grow.”

Growing old gracefully is all about determination and staying with a plan. That’s where the smile comes from.