Celebrate life and aging

Here is a funny story circulating the Internet.

After a long and serious operation, Rosanna ended up in a coma. Try as they might, the doctors just couldn’t bring her out of it. When her husband, Joseph, came into the Intensive Care Unit to see her, the doctors gave him the bad news.

“We just can’t wake her. It doesn’t look good I’m afraid,” the doctor told Joseph in a quiet somber voice.

Joseph looked at Rosanna and with a soft trembling voice, he said, “But doctor, she’s so young. She’s only 45.”

“37,” came the weak reply from Rosanna.

Aging. The reason why wrinkle creams, facial uplifts and stem cells sell so well. Aging has a significant place in the market right now.

Aging is an eventuality of life, yet there are so many people afraid of getting old.  Being afraid of old age is as illogical as fearing sleep because there will be tomorrow.

We all deal with the different stages in our lives. Consider this observation. I do a lot of parenting seminars all over the country. These are events usually organized by Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs).

These events reveal the age-ranges of parents. If the PTA event is for parents of kids in their kinder years, then parents will show up fashionable, slim or muscled. The fathers wear tight clothes. The mothers wear stylish clothes. These young parents show off and compare with each other, but they will never admit it.

Let’s move on to another scene. Have you ever seen senior citizens hanging out in beach or pool parties? The term is right. They really let it all “hang out”. Their conversations cover topics like doctors and medicines. They dive into the pool and enjoy just like they did when they were kids.

What about those in between these ranges? We can call them the middle agers. They do not like attending parties and reunions. They deplore the idea of having to show off their bodies that have been greatly affected by the dreaded disease called “gravity”. They know they cannot pretend to be young. They cannot let loose and be themselves like the seniors in a pool party. There are many things going on in a middle ager’s life at this point.

A lot of dreams may have gone unrealized. The business is not doing very well. Debts pile up. There is the constant threat of younger people coming into the work scene who are better with technology, hungrier for work and more willing to work for less pay. There are bills to pay, kids are not yet done in school and tuition fees go up each year while the pay remains the same. And the office does not offer additional perks anymore. 

At this stage in a person’s life, there is a strange mix of two feelings: apprehension and boredom. Both are unhealthy, and let me explain the reason why.

The main cause of apprehension and boredom is deterioration.

Over the years, there is actually an accumulation of tiny deteriorations. If not cared for during the earlier years, the deterioration of beauty, weakening of muscle and brain activity can have their effects visible by as early as the midpoint age.

The “deteriorating person” becomes cynical, skeptical and envious of other people’s success. The person becomes insecure of his or her future and deteriorates even more.

This should not be the case.

If you find yourself in this situation, you better get out of your “drunken stupor” and do some quick work.

Realize that opportunities are all over the place, but you need to prepare yourself first. Read books. Attend seminars. Get new skills. Build positivity. And network with people. You can get out of this stage by serving others with more needs than you.

Develop a learner’s mind. Be curious. Be excited with life. Get those muscles moving and pumping. Follow a healthy diet and dress well. Be dapper, fashionable and knowledgeable. Use your years of experience and wisdom. Refuse to be cynical. And most of all, build healthy relationships.

God’s creations are granted with the gift of creativity. But that gift should be exercised and put to good use.

We have no choice to grow old, but we can choose not to grow cold.

I am no longer young, but I am very excited with what life offers me in terms of learning and opportunities. My kids are done with school and are now entrepreneurs. I am training them to become lifelong learners and look forward to life with great expectations and excitement.

God does not invent junk so you and I should not live life like that.

Celebrate life each day!

(You can connect with Francis Kong through Facebook at www.facebook.com/franciskong2 or listen to his program called “Business Matters” from Monday to Friday at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. in 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch’, the classical music station.)