Caregivers in Highland Park, TX – Words of Wisdom from a Popular Writer Embracing Her Senior Years
Janis Ian is a singer-songwriter who has won two Grammy Awards, writes science fiction novels, and has a popular LGBT column. She is also 63 years old. In a recent email newsletter she shared how the aging process has influenced her life and offered up some words of wisdom.
Janis begins the newsletter talking about all of the things she knew she could do at 23 that she can no longer do at 63. She has begun the journey to accepting and acknowledging she is getting older; however aging also brings about certain realizations. Here are a few lessons Janis has learned as she has gotten older:
- Perspective on her life, present and past.
- Gratitude, things can always be worse
- Depth, a different type than when she was younger
- Fear is her own creation, not something coming from the outside world
While these lessons have been insightful, she also struggles with some of the downsides. The realization that she can’t run with her dog anymore, she can no longer do multiple shows in one night, and she isn’t able to go out and mow the lawn. Janis says “Most of all, I can’t pretend I’m young. And sometimes that hurts! In my mind’s eye, I am young!” She goes on to talk about how she wishes everything she could do when she was young was still possible today but why it’s just not the case.
There are a few things Janis doesn’t miss about being young including “a lack of patience” and her “rush to judgment.” Aging has made her realize, “there will always be a zillion things I want to do, and I’ll just get to a tiny percentage of them.” Janis shares how she has quit being hard on herself over things she can’t do and she has learned to “let things slide”.
Janis Ian’s journey through the aging process has taught her a lot about herself and what it really means to get old. Although she misses things she could do when she was younger, she is learning to appreciate the perspective aging brings. While there are downsides to getting older she has been able to recognize an increase in patience, gratitude, and depth in her life. If you are interested in reading more from this article you can visit http://changingaging.org/blog/i-learned-the-truth-at-63/.
