I haven’t lost interest in the activities that I enjoy. I don’t have feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. I don’t find it hard to get through the day. With all my aches and pains I can still LAUGH.

I walk with a slight limp but I still manage to put one foot in front of the other. I forgave my parents for the crime of throwing me into the world with clubfeet. But I was lucky my mother got me treatment right away so I wouldn’t be a cripple.

So, at approaching eighty, I haven’t yet grown sour and bitter and I enjoy my hobby of writing. So I’ve got it licked!

Humans are the only species that are consciously aware of their own mortality. I use my mortality as a motivator to enjoy what life I have left.

It’s a great irony that humans are both brilliant and savage, caring and indifferent, creative and destructive to self and others. So, the capacity to be aware of your mortality and to conceptualize has negative and positive consequences. I never had fame or wealth but in many ways I’m glad I’m a nobody, I’m happier! I am happy I’m free to do what I want to do with some limitations.

One by one death claims your loved ones and your friends. The older you grow the faster your peers die off. Finally you stand alone and there is nothing you can say or do to prevent it.

One of my friends said to me the other day:

“The past seems horrible to me, the present is gray and desolate, and the future is appalling.”

I thank my lucky stars I don’t share that bleak viewpoint.

I don’t concern myself with the future. My past, whether good or bad, I made the most of it. I live in the present.

I have lost the illusions of youth, but I still have enthusiasm for writing because of my curiosity about anything and everything. I hope it never leaves me.

One of the best things about growing old is the ability not to take things too seriously. I still have a belly laugh once in a while.

Those who are truly living corpses, are the middle-aged people who are stuck in their ruts and imagine the status quo will last forever.

I’m in favor of offering us a painless way out when our quality of life is nil. We didn’t ask to be born, so why should we be denied the privilege of making our exit when things become unbearable?

I see my life more of a comedy than a tragedy. The man that takes life too seriously is in big trouble.

In conclusion, with the world in such a mess, I try to accept my fellow man for what he is, good, bad, or indifferent.

I did my best, but it is never good enough!

Time keeps moving forward constantly. Time tends to carry us along no matter what. A friend said to me the other day:

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could STOP time or at least SLOW it down.”

I replied: “I’m sorry, but we can’t stop or slow time down. Look at that clock on the wall, notice the second hand move through one minute, that pace continues and does NOT STOP!”

My friend is 60 years old, he couldn’t believe that age was here already, and before he knows it, 60 will become 70!

***

Our days go by swiftly, they come and go, never again to see even one of those past days again.

***

My friend spoke again:

“I wish time would let somethings REMAIN!”

I thought: NOTHING REMAINS!

***

To me, later years are a time of losses. We lose our contemporaries, we lose our physical appearance, we lose our health, we lose our time, and our enthusiasm wanes. So, we live in resignation, accepting our age, with reluctance, and what we no longer have.

***

But there is light in the tunnel, we realize at least we are still ALIVE! Having good humour is the answer. I laugh to myself when I look at the liver spots on the backs of my hands. We create euphemisms, older instead of old, senior citizen is the one I use.

I feel young in my head, but then I look into the mirror. Who is that!

***

The thing that keeps me going is my writing, in which I enjoy researching different subjects for my blog and novels. This tends to overcome the restrictions imposed on my body by old age. The sage, Seneca, called old age an incurable disease. Come on, let’s get a cure! Ha, ha.

***

Is there a bright side to all of this?

Well, I love to reminisce about when I was a young man. I know I’m taking refuge in the past but it is good escapism. There is research that old people who reminisce a lot tend to live longer than those who don’t.

***

But, I try to live in the present as much as possible. It has been said, that hope for the future affects a person’s quality of life in the present. Older people tend to lose hope and that diminishes their present. But most senior citizens can readjust and make their existence worthwhile by resigning themselves to what is lost and making the most of what remains.

***

So, the overall picture is NOT as bleak as it seems. A lot of older people retain enough hope to consider life worthwhile well into their eighties. If you’ve got fairly good health and are financially secure, and have a passionate interest, you can look forward to quite a few good years

***

Old age happiness can be achieved with a combination of resignation and a commitment to living in the present and a perception that life is still good.

I will end with a joke that is true:

The only thing worse than growing old is BEING OLD!

What is the number one essential for living a life that’s true to who and what you are?

The essential is facing your own mortality. In other words, Facing Death.

Does that term scare you? Well, it shouldn’t because it is a great motivator to living a full life.

Motivator? Yes, when you face your limitation (death) you are liberated for the great experience of actually “living” and making meaningful choices.

***

Your limitation in life is your mortality. Being aware that your death is an inevitable part of your future can spur you on to make a meaningful life for yourself.

***

Embracing your death forces you to take seriously the choices you make about how to live. The inevitability of death makes life valuable. As you get older the supply of life gets smaller, but the appreciation of life gets greater.

***

The other essential to living well is “Living In Time.”

Living well requires you to have the right orientation toward your past, the present, and your future. Remember all your choices are made in the present.

***

What does time mean to you, on an everyday basis? Does it feel sort of disconnected between past, present, and future, with only the present having any real significance?

The everyday time seems like you’re IN TIME, and the present is where you exist, so it is the most important of the three times, past, present, and future. If you’re IN TIME, you feel like you are moving through it, it is EXTERNAL to you.

***

If you think of time from a first-person point of view, you understand time from the inside. It’s called “Lived Time.” There is no exact boundaries between past, present, and future. Your life is connected ACROSS time.

***

You naturally move forward toward the future, but you have to move forward from SOMEWHERE. Your existence has a starting point, your history (past).

Your Self emerged out of your past. So, you exist in the past!

***

You didn’t ask to be born in this time or in this culture. Certain possibilities are available to you in this time, but not all! Another limitation! Just as death is a limitation your birth is a limitation. When, where and to who are all birth limitations.

**

So, your past is NOT dead! Your past is in you, giving light to the present. Your options were limited by your birth. But this is YOU, it’s what makes you an individual.

***

Look at time another way, you also exist in the future! You’re always looking ahead, what’s next? You are running toward your future in anticipation.

***

In conclusion, we tend to join the past and future in the present. The present is your focal point where life comes together into a WHOLE across time.

In your present you see your world and your existence in a new way.

You face death and that means your meaningful actions are unwavering.

You move forward into the future as a unique person.

***

The joining of past and future, birth and death is expressed in finding meaningful actions in the present. You have made the connection between past, present, and future.

***

Life as you experience it has a meaningful flow. The past, present, and future make a unified existence. Your life is spread ACROSS time!

***

Remember: Time is so powerful it is given to us only in small quantities!

Is life absurd? Consider this scenario:

You get up and go to work. You work for four hours and then have lunch. Then four more hours of work, then you go home and have dinner, watch a little TV and go to bed. Five days all the same! One day you wake up and ask yourself:

“WHY?” And suddenly your “life” collapses!

Is this life absurd and irrational? Is there no logic or reason to it? If God is dead, as Nietzsche says, then we have no code of conduct to follow and no meaning to hold onto.

So, we are thrown into this world, live a life of “sameness” and then die. Yet we are constantly on a quest for meaning in a meaningless world!

In the above scenario of a humdrum existence there doesn’t seem to be much meaning. We come from nothing, we live for a very short time, and then return to oblivion. How absurd is that?

So, life is absurd, it doesn’t make sense, how do we deal with it? By living authentically and striving to be genuine. You must confront the world in your own individual way. You must make choices for yourself and make your own meaning.

***

Do you realize that you too, are absurd? That’s right we are absurd humans.

You live in the world, you make choices on what path you want to take, but the world doesn’t care what path you choose. You are alone and have to take responsibility for your own choices.

The world of your existence demands that you make choices even though it doesn’t care what choice you make or whether you make choices or not, which is a choice in itself. Now, that’s absurd!

In conclusion, we have to face the truths that come from your human absurdity and embrace them.

Your existence, which is absurd, takes place in the world. We are faced with the task of representing ourselves by creating meaning in our own lives.

***

You need to be passionate about things in your absurd existence. We have to care deeply about how we represent ourselves. We must take seriously our choices.

***

You are free. The world doesn’t dictate how we ought to live. What you do is up to you.

***

You are an individual. Your choices are unique to you and you stand out in the crowd.

***

You realize your existence is finite. Our lives are limited. Because you acknowledge this fact it acts as a motivator to create meaning while you are here.

***

The opposite side of the coin is living inauthentically. This means running away from making choices. Living authentically is difficult because it requires self-examination. When you make choices it hurts because there is some anxiety involved. The inauthentic person wants to avoid discomfort.

***

So, make your meaningful choices and create your genuine self.

I wish you:

HAPPY MEANINGFUL LIVING IN AN ABSURD WORLD!

“They” and “Them” are society, the faceless masses that want to control us. Existing in the world means existing alongside others. Without “Them” to structure and create worlds you can live in, you couldn’t exist in a meaningful way. The “They” make human life possible. Without “Them”, you’re nothing!

***

That’s conflicting, in a way, because: The smart thinking is that we get lost and entangled in the worldly immersion. We have to be capable of understanding our existence in a way NOT defined by “Them.”

***

In the chaos of the everyday, we tend to fall away from what we are, existing not as individual “I-Selves” but as “They-Selves.” Although, “They” are necessary to your existence, don’t forget that part of what being in the world means, is to maintain a sense of self APART from “Them.”

***

It’s a natural tendency to express the identity of the faceless crowd, but we must remember who we are and not get lost in the world of “Them.”

***

Being an individual means creating a meaning for your life that reflects your uniqueness without the need to borrow external values. Society fears the unique person because “They” want to pressure people to love mediocrity and passivity. “They” want people to conform.

***

I want to be an Individual but “They” and “Them” don’t want me to be unique.

“They” want to take away my Self-Control. How do they do it?

Have you ever succumbed to pressure from parents or friends? They want you to do something their way because they think it is right. When you take their advice you allow external ideas to determine your direction and “They” control you life!

***

When people tell you: “Don’t do that, what will “They” think?” “That’s not what “people” do.” Who are “They” and “People”? They mean the voice of society in general. You are to conform to the external pressures of the crowd.

***

The crowd preaches conformism and mediocrity. But the nature of the individual is to strive for uniqueness when engaging with life.

***

You must strive to be a self-created individual. The meaning you give to your life must be unique to you. You must create your own meaning and purpose.

***

So in conclusion, the individual must find counsel in his or herself rather than in the “Others.” Man’s identity is a basic part of his being: he can only assert it by refusing to conform to society’s “norms’ entirely. Don’t always listen to “They” and “Them.”

***

Strive to maintain control over yourself.

Remember: “Self-expression is good; self-control is better!”

PC, political correctness, the dictionary defines it as:

The avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.

***

This is a noble statement. It offers balm to the sensitivities of people. But I believe, that PC has become a censorship movement that shuts down debate and people’s opinions. It makes people censor themselves, the thoughts they have and their right to think what they want and to say what they think.

***

This noble statement in the definition, has many times been carried to extremes where it pressures people to avoid talking about sensitive issues and proposing solutions that are different from the usual agenda.

***

PC is the method of controlling and dumbing down of the people’s right to their opinions. Liberty in speech means the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear. But then, those people have the right to counter what has been said.

***

Did you ever wonder why voter turnout is usually low? It’s because the electorate feel it’s pointless to bother when all the main parties occupy the center ground. There is a sameness no matter who wins. No party wants to suggest any policy that is not PC, for fear of being called, “The Nasty Party.”

***

There is a creeping movement for Thought Conformism and Speech Conformism in the guise of PC. Sounds like something out of Orwell’s 1984 doesn’t it? It has become fashionable for people to be offended by almost anything they don’t believe in and to demand the perpetrator be prevented from saying it.

***

PC is an open attack on Free Speech and an attempt to bypass debate. The elite by trying to drive powerful sentiments underground does NOT get rid of them! The recent political earthquakes in the UK and US have proved that!

***

One of the reasons Donald Trump won the presidency is because he promised to get rid of PC. He realized that the ordinary Joe in America was sick to death of the smug elite telling him what to think. The elite by trying to force people not to speak their minds led to a revolution of the common man and their votes went to a guy who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.

***

We must realize we have been manipulated by PC through saturation and suppression. Repeating something often enough and low and behold, it becomes accepted! Our ideas and opinions have been squashed if they go against the PC message.

***

So, lets get rid of this self-censor. Hyper-sensitivity cripples a person to the point that they can’t deal with the harsh realities of life. We must speak our minds and confront others in the arena of ideas. Can’t we question what is and what is not insulting, marginalizing and discriminatory?

***

The worst aspect of PC is its success in stifling opposing beliefs. The basic tendency of PC is to censor yourself from saying something in opposition to PC. PC wages war against Freedom of Speech. It gives itself a sense of moral superiority over any opposition. It gives a sense of shame and guilt to opposing beliefs. This then, becomes internalized so people censor themselves from saying things that that they strongly believe in. Don’t feel guilty for something you’re not responsible for: if you are not responsible for it, you can’t be guilty. Don’t feel emotional discomfort over voicing your opinions. We need debate. It has been closed down by the dominance of the moralistic ideology of PC.

***

Remember what Voltaire said: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

***

We have to communicate our ideas and opinions, and to do that we have to engage with people. Calling them “racist” doesn’t defeat an argument and It won’t help change their mind. Only debate, out of the realm of PC, might do that.

***

The 1^st Amendment to the US Constitution was established to help promote free speech, a free exchange of ideas, and to provide a form of redress to citizens against their government, with this restriction:

The government prohibits the use of speech used to incite violence and lawlessness.

***

So in conclusion, we must motivate ourselves and others to overcome the barrier to speak our minds. If enough people stop being isolated and shed the fear of PC, we will put down PC for good!

In 2016, two earth-shaking events happened:

The June referendum, when 17.4 million people in the UK voted to LEAVE the EU.

It was a 52% majority.

And the November election of Donald Trump for President of the US, when 62 million people voted for Trump which won a majority of the Electoral College votes.

***

These millions of voters in the UK and US felt they were NOT being listened to by their leaders. They felt marginalized and disenfranchised. They felt their leaders thought their concerns were insignificant and so they were put on the back burner.

Yet, they had LEGITIMATE concerns about their country!

***

All the bile and criticism thrown at the majorities in these two countries is a sign that the insulated political class wants to take the people out of democracy. Now, democracy means giving the people a voice so they can speak for themselves. The word democracy implies power and control to the people.

***

So, what happened in the aftermath of these two earthquakes?

People of the masses got bashed! This was the response to the events. Constant complaining and attempts to block the people’s decision.

***

Lets look at some of the LEGITIMATE concerns of the majority of the voters.

The 17.4 million people who voted to LEAVE the EU:

1. They wanted to make their own laws and decisions. Take control back from the EU.
2. Close the open borders by vetting incoming people for safety and population reasons.
3. Protect our institutions which are feeling the strain from over population.
4. Do our own trade deals with the rest of the world.
5. The people want their country back. For too long the elite have put the needs of other countries ahead of the UK’s.

What the 62 million voters wanted Trump to do:

1. Have the government start listening to the people’s concerns.
2. Bring jobs back to the US.
3. Manufacture our own goods at home, NOT abroad.
4. Re-build infrastructure and create many jobs.
5. Need affordable health care for the ordinary person.
6. Strengthen the borders by close vetting of incoming people.
7. Stop cheap foreign goods from entering the country.
8. Stop illegal immigration, if you’re in the country illegally, you are a criminal.

***

These are all LEGITIMATE concerns.

***

Now, lets look at the attempts in both countries to delegitimize the results of the vote and the voters who produced them. The power elite tried to force their views on the voters by FEAR and INSULT.

***

In the UK a fear campaign was launched. The Prime Minister and his cronies, the Governor of the Bank of England, The Chancellor of Germany and even the President of the US plus many celebrities said leaving the EU would mean economic catastrophe for the country.

Yet, still a majority didn’t do as they were told and voted to leave the EU!

***

In America, Clinton talked about “the deplorables” who supported Trump and the elite found the idea of such deplorable people exercising power frankly distasteful.

***

Some things stand out in the people bashing responses to Brexit and Trump’s election:

1. It has been said that those voting for Brexit in the UK and Trump in the US must have been uninformed, emotionally gullible people. Some say we entrust too much influence to the ignorant and easily misled people who don’t listen to the wise and enlightened elite. This is a clear insult to the voters.

The fear campaign of the elite tried to scare the “simple-minded” voters into obedience to their views. But the electorate resisted this ploy.

2. It has also been said that people who voted for Brexit and Trump must be racists. Ridiculous! You can’t write off millions of voters by using the over-used race card. Look again at the legitimate concerns of the people, there is nothing racist about them.
3. The elite political class want to redefine the meaning of democracy by excluding or downplaying the people by trying to represent them as it sees fit. They seek to separate the power from the people.

***

And this is why the elites of the UK and US and the rest of the West could not and can not accept the results of the two political earthquakes.

***

I always thought that majority rule was the main stay of democracy. Apparently not, when millions vote against the ideas of a small political elite.

***

So, what now? We need to reaffirm the democratic principles. We need to open up a political debate on how to engage the many who have been excluded from public life, and put all the people back in Democracy.

Maybe we could have more public debates on national issues via the internet. Instead of being just spectators, the people should have more of a say in where the world goes, NOT JUST THE ELITE!

While re-watching the film, No Country for Old Men, in which the old sheriff thinks that all his rules of life have disappeared and he no longer has the energy or inclination to put up with the wild and horrific times, the idea came to me that something similar occurs for old people generally these days.

The old people of today are led down the path of decrepitude with poor care provisions, with less recognition by society, with the feeling of being invisible, and the general feeling of being abandoned and isolated in this age of high tech.

The old feel lost and confused in today’s fast pace of life, which is geared to the young. Society seems to devote less and less time to the care of the old. All this leads up to feeling rejected by society.

So, the Older Generation becomes The Lost Generation!

Many elderly feel extreme loneliness as a result of feeling alien to the outside world. It’s like your SELF has no value and is less appreciated. Many of the old feel unable to adapt to new circumstances especially when they are vulnerable to illness and disease. They feel lost by the way aging is treated, it has come to mean loss of value and importance.

The last act of life takes everything we can muster to keep moving forward. We hope our will is strong so the circumstances of old age cannot destroy us.

The old have to say, “YES” to life even though we are scared of the unknown.

We are STILL here and we can still do some things that are noteworthy.

So, how do we fight being invisible?

You can circumvent invisibility by an outgoing personality. I’m not talking about being pushy, but you can make yourself heard. I do this by my writing, which is my hobby in retirement. I keep abreast of the news and offer my opinions.

Carry on with moving one foot in front of the other, mentally and physically, and you won’t feel this is NO COUNTRY FOR OLD PEOPLE!