Things you’ve learned to appreciate the older you’ve gotten


PhilM said:
Peace and quiet, and a lack of drama in life.
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The Penalty Box Dancer said:
Your wellbeing. Your sanity. Taking time out for yourself.
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Both of these together really.
Having a free day to yourself with no responsibilities to attend to is bliss.

Wanna stay in bed all day? sit in front of the TV, play video games, read a book, sit in silence or go for an aimless 3 hour walk to wherever with no one to stop you - go for it!
 

Myself.

Not that I'm a narcissist or egotistical - just that when one is younger, there is a terrible tendency to find fault in yourself. At 53, I have lived long enough and am self-aware enough to know all of my many faults - and not care too much about most of them.

Another thing I am really starting to apprecitate now is time. We wish our lives away or get caught up in the daily grind to the extent that you do eventually look around and wonder where 10 years or more have just disappeared to. I'm trying to live less in the future - by planning - and less in the past - by reminiscing. Living in the moment is often underappreciated, but if you are living a reasonably content life, it's exactly where you'd want to live.
 

Drico said:
Another thing I am really starting to apprecitate now is time. We wish our lives away or get caught up in the daily grind to the extent that you do eventually look around and wonder where 10 years or more have just disappeared to. I'm trying to live less in the future - by planning - and less in the past - by reminiscing. Living in the moment is often underappreciated, but if you are living a reasonably content life, it's exactly where you'd want to live.
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How are you achieving living in the present? Genuinely interested - something I'd like to achieve too.
 
Tony Hibbert's Wife said:
How are you achieving living in the present? Genuinely interested - something I'd like to achieve too.
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Hobbies and gratitude.

As we age, stress becomes the silent killer. I never saw myself as "old", but I now realise that I can't work with the same "busy energy" of someone 25 years younger than me - and nor should I. I am far more effective than them because of priceless experience and nous. I impress through output or working smarter, not busy work. So, time to slow down... Embrace wisdom and your own professional expertise. Keep learning, admire youth, but never underestimate your own experience when you've developed it. The old dog is the one for the long road.

That self-awareness to slow down helps me make more time for my hobbies and interests - even if it's just having a laugh on here each day. I am the type of person that becomes obsessive about my interests to the extent that you almost become an authority on the subject. That's immersive - and keeps me grounded in the moment.

The gratitude comes from still having my parents in my life - that won't be the case for ever. And for my son's good health and childlike vitality. These things can never be taken for granted - so I try to wallow in them. Spending "us" time with my other half is the same. Half of all marriages break down - let alone relationships in general. I am clearly very privileged. And I know that because I have lost family members in the past way before their - and, thus, my - time.

Of course, I still have bouts of fretting about the future. But I do think you can end up spending your entire life in a future that never arrives if you're not careful. Or one that arrives inevitably anyway despite your worries and wishes to avoid it. People will die. Relationships will break down. Jobs will go. Health will dissipate...

So, live in the here and now. When you think about it - and you shouldn't spend too much time doing so - it's all we've got.
 
In no particular order

1. Long sunny days in Liverpool Brisbane
2. My children’s ongoing health.
3. My own ongoing health
4. Being single
5. Solitude (preferably with silence)
6. Trees & nature
7. A good w@#k

And lastly:

8. Resilience (Everyone thinks the worlds about to cave in, but wasn’t that the case through the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. I (we?) managed to navigate that reasonably well. The only time that I’ve ever felt confident about humanity was that short period during and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. And that didn’t last long in the grand scheme of things.
 

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