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It is believed that over the years people renounce the worldly, turning more and more to thoughts about the eternal. The Indian writer, who lived to be almost a hundred years old, thought differently. And he urged to keep the «youthful flame of desire.»
“The other day I turned 89. I went to the mirror to look at myself. I looked like 89. Watery, cloudy eyes, a tattered beard, now gray-haired, now reddish from henna. I didn’t like what I saw. An old man should not look his age: trying to seem younger than his years, as if you really are getting younger.
And I dyed my beard black. Perhaps I really began to look younger: friends who came to congratulate me said that I would never give my 89. I perked up.
And even in my eyes the former light was lit — when a charming lady with appetizing forms appeared before them, young enough to be my great-granddaughter. I think that the pleasure was mutual: I felt better that I still retained a particle of youth in me, and she — from the compliments that I lavished on her.
My point is that if you are not going to accept your age, you should confront it with humor. I also have a few other considerations about my age.
Vigorous exercise is no longer desirable. Even an easy walk or swimming takes more and more strength. But there are other ways to train an aging body: wander around the house, dust off books, talk to the plants in the garden, if you have one. And in compensation for the lack of vigorous training, you will have to drastically limit yourself in food and drink.
Food also needs to be taken strictly on time. You will have to deal with bowel and bladder problems, they become not very quick over the years. You will have to keep them in good shape with artificial stimulants, no longer relying on nature, it is no longer on your side. But it is necessary: stagnation in the intestines and bladder spreads diseases throughout the body and shortens life.
It is extremely important to get a good night’s sleep (at least seven hours) plus an hour or two in the afternoon. And for this you need to keep peace of mind. If the soul is disturbed, sleep leaves you. Use sleeping pills if necessary. It does no harm and has no side effects. However, I, fortunately, sleep soundly without any pills.
Shorten your secular life, or rather, give it up altogether, meeting sannyas1 in your own home. Do not encourage uninvited visitors, and if they do visit you, politely ask them not to stay longer than half an hour. Don’t let other people bore and disturb you. You will find that a day spent in solitude and silence can fill you with fresh energy.
Entering the last stage of your life, you need to discard all worldly ambitions and envy of those who, from your point of view, have achieved something undeservedly. It’s too late to crave anything but a peaceful, painless end.
It’s important to keep your feelings in check.
People who are prone to anger are also disposed to high pressure, and it is not far from it to shock, paralysis and helplessness. Everyone gets angry from time to time. But it is important to protect yourself from stubbornly accumulating irritation that turns into anger.
Learn to dispel your grievances, freeing your soul from them. Keeping and nurturing discontent in oneself is pointless, as the Punjabis say, this is undur undur kurhna — to keep an abscess inside, to harm oneself. Angry people don’t live long.
Most aging Indians turn to prayer, visit temples every day and seek the company of their peers. I wouldn’t recommend any of this. Excessive zeal in prayer and service to the gods is, in fact, nothing more than an admission of defeat. Giving up the will to live and trying to negotiate what comes after it. Although no one has the slightest idea about this.
Sexual issues may already be bracketed, but the flickering light of desire should still be supported and protected.
With it, you also support the desire to hold on to life for as long as possible. The old man’s company only confirms your worst fears that the battle for life has already been lost. If you need company, seek out the company of people much younger than you. For such communication, it is best to acquire a young friend of the opposite sex.
The philosopher Bertrand Russell lived a very long life, married twice and had countless mistresses.
Here is what he wrote in his autobiography, referring to a woman named Edith: “For many years I have longed for peace. I knew the frenzy of delight and torment, I knew madness, loneliness and pain that corrodes the heart, but I never knew peace. Now, as an old man on the verge of the end, I recognize you. And with you again I knew the frenzy of rapture — and I knew peace. I got to know him after all these long years, got to know what life and love can be. Now, falling asleep, I will sleep peacefully, like a person whose desires have been fulfilled.
1 Sannyas — in Hinduism — the last stage of a person’s life, when one should give up material wealth, focusing on the spiritual aspects of being.