Getting older is something we're all experiencing, and people over 60 on Reddit are finding solace with one another by sharing their honest thoughts about aging. An anonymous person said, "I'm 63, healthy as far as I know, work out five to six days a week. Good marriage, good job, etc. I'm just very aware that the reality of aging is that the future will increasingly bring loss, not gain, and I'm just not up for it. Anyone else feel this way?"
"Other than the fact that IDGAF about a lot of things anymore, I don't notice any 'benefits from aging.' Quite the opposite. And the reality is that, no matter how we choose to look at it, aging brings loss," they added.
3. "The viewpoint that comes with being around for that long is difficult to understand. I'm a seven-year cancer survivor, and while that entire episode was a blip, I DID plan my funeral, which is an eye-opening thing to do if you never have. We ALL know our days are numbered; there is no escape from that fact. When you DO get a glance into the abyss, you don't forget it. The crap that seemed important earlier in our lives merely loses its panache when compared to the seriousness of one's final days. Some sit on the sidelines of life, refusing to be injured, while others have weathered injury before and realize that it's essential to the game. In the end, you can lie on your deathbed, remembering, rejoicing, and lamenting the deeds of life. Or, you can lie there, revisiting old, ancient wounds and grudges, wondering just what all you might have missed out on had you but tried."
7. "My husband and I talk about this a lot — that if there are things we still want to do, we need to do them sooner rather than later. It really hit us when we turned 60. We’ve lost parents and loved ones; our family holidays are not the same and never will be. It’s life, but there’s a sadness to a lot of the changes. And I think we’re being realistic that our physical and mental health will almost definitely decline in the upcoming decades. I don’t care how good shape you’re in at 80; it’s still 80, and you won’t be as robust as 50 or 60. But with that said, I feel up to it. Some of the changes are exciting, and I’m interested to see what the future holds. It’s wonderful to see my now adult child as a grown-up with their own life, job, interests, etc. I moved to another country and changed jobs in my late 50s. Life is an adventure, not a slog."
"I think you need to be realistic but also find something to be excited about and interested in. Maybe it’s all downhill from now on in some ways, but some people have been feeling that way since their 30s or 40s! Flip the switch — you have a good life, enjoy today, and make plans for tomorrow. All these good things are a gift, enjoy it!!!"
8. "I’m 64 and run three to five miles every morning, lift weights four days a week, eat healthy, and take lots of different vitamin supplements. My wife, however, is 55, a hospice nurse, and does none of these. She often asks me why I go to all of this trouble since, in the next few years, my muscles will sag, and since it runs in my family, I’m sure to get Alzheimer’s. I try to explain to her that although we all age, I’m trying to keep myself in the best shape possible so that I can enjoy as many years as possible. I look for the good. Yes, I have arthritis in my right hand, so I can’t go shooting my large caliber handguns much anymore, but I am physically in much better shape than many if not most, people my age. We have to get older, but we don’t have to accept as a fact that we will be decrepit and senile."
16. "Don't soil your now with your thoughts of what the future might bring..."
"The truth is, weneverquite know what the future will be like. When you are 3, and you think of being 10, it seems so mature. When you are 10, and you imagine being 16 and what it will be like, it is never how it actually turns out.
What did you imagine 63 would be like when you were 20?
You don't actually know how you will age or when you will die. Thismightbe your last day on earth! Thinking does change as you age. When you are young, you can always imagine a future when all of your problems are solved. Of course, there neverisa day when all of your problems are solved. They just change into different problems.
I try my best to really notice all the good of today rather than focusing on potential problems that may or may not arise in a possible future that I may never live to see. Instead of thinking about my arthritic knees, I notice that I don't need to use hearing aids.
I've noticed so many benefits from aging. I no longer have to work. I'm happier in my own skin. I worry much less about many different things. I've experienced living through things I worried about, and often, they worked out fine in the end.
I do try to make sure that I have a range of interests and friends, things I could enjoy without so much physical fitness so that as I'm no longer able to enjoy my physical hobbies, I will still have a rich and full life.
I find the very old people that I know very interesting, especially if I clearly remember them being my own age. I've seen them age. I've seen how happy they have been at different times in their life. Their happiness doesn't correlate very strongly to how able they have been at any one time."
