One sure fire way to feel young again is to visit a nursing home. Yesterday I visited residents in two nursing homes and came away thinking that I'm a whole lot younger than I thought I was!
None of the residents appeared to be able to walk without assistance, and most were in wheel chairs. And there were those who looked like they might be freezing to death, but it was just a case of perpetual tremors. And there were those who just stared into space, lost in their own internal world. Oh, and there were the ones who wanted help to escape so they could go back home, when in fact, the home they remembered probably no longer exists.
Those who are mentally out of it could be the lucky ones. The people who have full use of their mental faculties have a huge adjustment to make. I believe it was Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who, when asked what it felt like to be an old man, said "I don't feel like an old man, I feel like a young man with a very serious problem."
It looks to me as if adaptability is one of the keys to living a long and happy life. Unfortunately, the ability to adapt doesn't seem to increase with age. But, I guess each of us will have to deal with it in our own way, and in the mean time maybe someone will find that fountain of youth.
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