LOOKING BACK
Seniors now retired often reminisce about their younger years and in looking back sometimes express regret that they had not accomplished some things, gone to college or even finished high school. Feelings of nostalgia engulf them and they long for their younger years when they were physically and mentally adroit to master all kinds of feats they now watch the younger generation enjoy. This nostalgia can blunt the wonderful human potential they still have now to empower themselves. It seems that the trials and tribulations they have experienced in life have weighed heavily upon them so much so that they have lost sight of who they are and what strength and energy they have. This situation is often labeled incorrectly depression.
If they are in good physical condition, it's really more an attitude of "misery likes company ". That is to say, for them it's easier to lament over their emptiness than to take the bull by the horns and become active in new pursuits. People with such an outlook have often had disappointments or been discouraged when they were younger. The mental abilities they had when they were younger are still with them. It's just they are at this stage of life blindsided by trying to look back deluded in thinking their physical strength is the same as their mental ability. The fact of the matter is their body is not at the level it was at age twenty.
Now that you have reached this place in reading this article you might think these preceding ideas don't apply to you. But for those who identify with what I have said try to realize that your life is still vibrant and full of opportunities for you to enjoy. Stop malingering in the past because that will stunt your growth. Your past experiences may have contributed to your feelings of anger as well as disappointment. You could be living with lingering anger, too. Feelings of envy, jealousy or even revenge can haunt you. You have the ability to rise above these negative views and change your attitude.
If you think that you have had a raw deal along your life's road, remember you are not the only one who has lived with misery and even so it does not mean you have to be trapped in miserable past thoughts. Nostalgia is sometimes your tool used to project blame on others for your own lack of accomplishment. You own those things you missed doing. You're melancholy is an escape from taking responsibility for your life. It's an attitude that becomes an excuse to sit and brood over what you don't have and can't do. It's called indolence and, if you really think about it, you have developed it as a skill to being idle, apathetic, indifferent, uninterested, listless or lethargic.
I don't believe, as some might say that you have become lazy. This word brings me to a play on words because if one chooses to say that you are lazy, I believe it's not so. Being lazy is what you are doing. You are not doing anything? You are doing something " nothing!" The interesting thing is you have become habituated to doing nothing so long that it's time to stop being stagnant and start looking forward.
LOVE CAN LAST
It all starts with you. Yes, understand that you can only love if you love yourself. The question then becomes how does one develop self love? I guess it all begins when you are a little baby. How were you touched? How were you fondled? How were you held? What sounds did you hear? Were they soft, loud, or gentle? Did you see faces that were smiling or frowning? These questions are answered by the vibrations they provided you. If they were warm and tender, then you felt comfortable and safe. You were at ease to reach out to the world and embrace it. Now, you may not remember those early sensations but they developed and if they continued to be positive as you grew older you really got to love yourself. You really loved your feelings so much so that you now become able to share those feelings with others. You have developed the ingredients of love that give you pleasure in life.
If you have been blessed with children then they have grown to love by the model you have set for them. If you have a positive self concept, then they will know it by the way you relate to them. If you have been nasty, belligerent, or angry as they were growing up, don't be quick to blame them when they act that way to you. After all, the behavior you modeled may come home to haunt you. Remember, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." When they leave the nest and live on their own you would like to believe that they are free agents and should know how to behave and relate nicely with you and other people. However, like it or not, vestiges of your nurturing have become a part of them. So, in your senior years of life what's the answer?
If, as I said earlier, you have lived with a positive self concept, you will reap the rewards of a healthy loving relationship with your children. Even If you have a negative self concept you still have an opportunity to change your perceptions to a positive view of life because the infant vibrations you received were not transmitted genetically. You learned from them. But it won't necessarily be easy because think about the many years you have become what you are. It takes a lot of courage to really look into yourself and recognize who you have become. If you have the willingness to be introspective and have enough self confidence, you can change your perceptions. The change will be refreshing, not only to yourself, but to your children.
It's important to understand that if you are really committed and motivated to modify your self concept, recognize the change may not be rapid but it will occur. Even your loved ones may be surprised, at first, to see you in a different light. They might think you are showing something of yourself that makes them feel you are pretending. Don't let that discourage you. Remember, the good feelings of love you share will be catching, attractive and everlasting for yourself as well as others. Love does last if it is authentic.
