I may not like growing old, and I really don’t, but I have discovered something far worse.
The worst thing of all is watching everyone else grow old too.
And this isn’t restricted to the people you love, your family and friends, but animals too.
I noticed the tell-tale signs a while ago, but it didn’t ring any alarm bells then. Now it has. All those niggly aches and pains caused by overdoing things have now begun to look more sinister.
Somewhere along the line during our lives, I think we get complacent, confident that we can go on forever, that somehow we are indestructible. In my own case, this is mainly due to all the things I have managed to survive and walk away from. So it came as a bit of a shock to realise that this may not continue to happen after all. That one day I might not wake up in the morning.
This is where the fear begins, as you watch the people you love struggle with ordinary everyday activities and see the pain they try so hard to hide. You can’t help it, but you start to wonder who will go first, and selfishly pray it isn’t you.
One of the worst things I see every day is the difference in our magnificent Merlin, our rather large, black and white cat. Always so strong and fit, suddenly he cannot jump up on his favourite chair and seems to be walking slower these days. He is talking far more these days too, and appealing to us with wide, imploring eyes. I wonder if he worries about the future too.
Living each day as it comes, and refusing to think about tomorrow, seems to be the best way. Make each day the best it can possibly be, rather than living every day as if it will be your last, as that gives out entirely the wrong attitude, I think.
None of us knows what will happen tomorrow, but we can only hope there are more days left than we think!
Growing old is part of living. The worse thing to that would be dying young.
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Far too late for that now… But I know what you mean…
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Very true. Your thought to live everyday as it comes is what I try to do as well! It reminds me of Jesus saying at Matthew 6:34. It says, “So never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Each day has enough of its own troubles.” I’d like to share with you an article that discusses a positive hope for the future! We all may grow old, get sick, and die now. But there is hope! https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=1102012188&srcid=share
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Thank you…
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You have the right idea. Live one day at a time and don’t think too much about the future.
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That’s the intention, anyway…
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I think animals are blessed with living in the “now.” They enjoy the moment – the lap, the sunny sill, the cuddles – without concern about tomorrow. If only we could be more that way. 🙂 I think I’d use my time more wisely and with less worry about the future if I did.
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He has started looking at me with such sad questions in his eyes, I don’t want to imagine what he might be thinking about…
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😦 ❤
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I have a very good friend who says, “Growing old is not for wimps.” If we are blessed with relatively good health, we can put up with the aches and pains. My mom is 92, immobile and in a care home, but is very happy and contented. More so than when she was younger. xo
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Well, that’s encouraging…
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I know those ‘questioning eyes’. 😦
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They are haunting me…
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