May 1, 2016
Aging - Blessing or a Curse?


An elderly woman expressed her fear of aging to me. When I replied that she was not afraid of old age, but of the illnesses that sometimes accompany it, she angrily retorted, "No I am afraid of growing old".

I have pondered her concern. What did aging mean to her? Loss of the youthful glow? Fear of Death? Fear of limited movement or activities? Loss of friends and intimate others? Fear of the future? Possible loss of income? Fear of change? Loss of ones mental abilities?

She was literally "scared to death". So she had already aged. She had joined the fears that create aging.

She was angry when I told her that getting old (I'm 82) is fun. She refused to discuss her apprehension. Her dread was overwhelming.

In fact her trepidation could cause mental deterioration. She was afraid of losing something that she probably had already lost. Dread/fear causes stress which induces the toxin cortisol to take over the brain so that one is more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

Each day we live, we need to do just that. Live! Enjoy each day. Accept pain as something that is warning us to check on our health in order to improve it. Not to complain and do nothing about it.

Each day make certain that our activities and food intake are compatible with the best brain ever.

I go dancing and yes the young men ask me to dance. As long as I know the steps they are not concerned that I could be their grandmother. In fact one man said that dancing with me made him feel young. He was about 40 years old.

When I am bored, I play around with drawing scenes that I view as beautiful.

I have authored four books. You can find them on Amazon.com under my name, Bernadine Fawcett.

For a number of years I was a Staff Columnist with the newspaper, "The Sound Observer". I continued to write articles such as this one to the tune of at least once a month after the Observer stopped its publications.

My articles may be found in numerous publications both national and international plus on my web site (for free), fawcettcounseling.com.

I love counseling people and watching their tears turn into joyful and grateful smiles.

I have experienced singing and dance lessons, traveling, Radio and TV appearances, and giving Presentations: both of a historical and of a counseling nature.

I have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I am proud of each and everyone for their dedication to life and to helping other people each in their own expertise.

I have no fear of dying. We all die. No one lives forever. I feel young. I forgot to age.

I hope that you just live and forget to age also.