Ageing gratefully

The frailties of old age, surrounded by a sense of losing time rapidly, are real and should be accepted with gratitude for all the fulfilling moments of the past

- SIDDHARTH DEV VERMAN

There is an old Hawaiian homily that goes something like this: "Age is relative; when you are over the hill, you pick up speed". Indeed, the older I get the more I seem to age faster. Contrary to my expectation that life as a sexagenarian would move along slowly, occasionally resting a while to catch up with friends over coffee and cookies, I find myself being fast forwarded like an old cassette in a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder for the ignorant). Ageing heralds the onslaught of time on your mind, body and, ultimately, soul. No amount of medical miracles or elixir purchased by all the money in the world can halt your free fall. But it remains with us, or at least with most of us, to decide how we descend once we are over the hill. You can choose to tumble down, run down or simply do it one step at a time, avoiding broken bones and egos.