Blog Dis
Don't get old...
2026-04-16
These are the sage words delivered to me by an elderly woman in my life. I've listened. I've absorbed. And I've come to the conclusion that I'll resist aging on all fronts, to the best of my ability, to claw my way out, scratching and screaming. No one has time to get old. No one really wants to be reminded of getting older. Surely not I, and maybe not you either.
Most recently I read that as we evolve (rather than get old), our brain processes memories differently as more time passes between the here and now, and recalling the memory. So despite how a memory might have felt like it occurred only just yesterday, when we recall it, our waking brain reminds us that the memory is in fact from decades past. This is what hits hardest, knowing that much time has passed, rather than rolling out the memory with only just the warm, fuzzy feelings. I call this process: time's rude-reminder.
There are many reminders of the passage of time. The first for me is the wear and tear on our bodies. If you're like me, who's been involved in competitive sports from the time of pre-teen, you'll notice it even more when your reflexes begin that inevitable downward spiral to slow-down-town. I played competitive softball for over a decade, not an all-female team but a mixed team. This gave it an edge, the kind of aggressiveness that can typically come from men. The guys on the team out-numbered the women. It was a rule that coaches were not required to field more than three woman vs six men, so the women who played on the team had to be as fast as the guys, even though we knew we weren't. We tried! I pitched and I dodged fast-balls coming back at me like canons, whenever some guys stepped up to the plate with the intention of killing the ball, rather than having the skill to cherry-pick a spot, to place the ball. The time came, however, when I slowed down and wasn't fast enough, to either catch the ball fired back at me or to step out of the way. I tried playing different roles, like Rover, or short-stop and center field. It wasn't the same as being the pitcher, right in the middle of all the action. Eventually I had no choice but to step away from this competitive sport in my mid-30s, despite still feeling young and foolish, and absolutely not having lost my love of playing the game. I tried as an alternative to play lob-ball which drove me nuts. It was awful, slow, and purposely de-fanged to make it less dangerous. I will admit that competitive softball is dangerous, if you're the pitcher, given that no one on the team wears protective gear, other than the catcher and umpire.
Age made the decision for me, not my willing spirit. My body had betrayed me, basically. Naughty body. Just because you may lead an athletic life, the way I was living; cycling, walking, hitting the gym, karate classes three times a week, rowing each day as well as playing softball at least three times week — doesn't mean the tendons in your body will behave the way you want them to, so I adjusted... or rather I evolved. I gave up my beloved softball to stick with other athletic pursuits.
It's bred into us to rationalize. Our brains are coded with lessons learned from childhood. How we compartmentalize the chain of events in our life is typically a direct correlation to how we view life. If, as an example, every day is viewed as a gift, memories of the past may more often than not be pulled up with fondness. The opposite is true too, that to remember past days, which may not have been so wonderful, against the framework of present troubles, then there is a strong likelihood of harboring a foreboding feeling for the future, which has yet to reveal itself. Though, I'm fond of telling myself that despite how your environment growing up may have shaped you, this doesn't mean that you're not in possession of the power to change, to break destructive cycles.
You're in the driver's seat.
Because I enjoy reading all things: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, travelogues, scientific articles, and to listen occasionally to podcasts about physical and mental health, I'm becoming more and more shocked by the statistics on dementia and Alzheimer's. It's expected that 40% of the aging population will exhibit signs of dementia, well before their retirement years. So, to put a finer point on it, dementia is an umbrella term to define that an individual is experiencing a cognitive decline in memory, reasoning and behavior. If you've an elderly person in your life, then you'll understand this comment insofar that you'll be surprised by their dramatic shifts in personality. Whereas, Alzheimer's is considered to be a specific brain disease and the most common cause of dementia.
These brain conditions are telltale signs of advanced aging vs the casual symptoms of aging, to which I shall repeat I refer to as 'evolving', which I trust by now you'll agree is a less egregious term than the tired label of 'getting old' — symptoms of decline and frailty that slither up quietly next to you, unknowingly, as you go about your life, thinking you're absolutely marvelous.
When I worked for two Conservative politicians, in my 20s, I recall how my ability to spell on a dime was lightning fast, and yet as the decades have rolled on by, I began to second-guess myself, to check my spelling, which I still do to this day. I've retained my vocabulary, and there's always room for growth in this regard, but for the most part, my first attempt to spell a long-syllable word is correct yet I've passed that youthful stage of brazen confidence. Instead, now I carefully consider my way of writing to have evolved, wherein I re-consider my choice of words, and their spelling. I didn't ask for this stage to present itself. It came into my life on its own. Another example of the process of evolution.
The other telltale sign that indicates you're no longer a kid in the candy shop is your digestive system.
Our bodies produce enzymes which are an essential process for digestion, metabolism and building muscle. Some doctors contend that these enzymes are critical to support these life processes. I could list some of these processes but instead it's vital to state the importance of one particular body part, the pancreas, which produces the most enzymes needed in our body. There are also salivary glands, stomach and small intestine — all of which produce enzymes. Enzymes, just to put this subject under a microscope, are the reason why your body is able to speed up the processing of chemicals, to absorb the nutrients from the food you eat, and this applies to processing the alcohols you drink. For me, I've been one of these rude types of people who can enjoy a drink or two and stop, while everyone else around me is just beginning to get revved up. I've never enjoyed getting drunk, more than likely because I can't really handle it. But my world had turned over for me the day my body was no longer able to process the consumption of my favorite British ale. Whenever I'd drink one measly pint, my stomach would turn to rot.
Again, no one asked me if I wanted to change. The wheels of time kept on spinning, as has my body to evolve, no longer able to produce the same levels of enzymes to eat the way I did in my 20s. When you research this vital subject, to educate yourself, you'll quickly discover that your body begins its inevitable decline in the late 20s and early 30s, producing less and less enzymes; hence why many of us will make it a habit of taking a prebiotic, before meals, followed by a probiotic, after meals. The gradual decline of enzymes takes full flight in our late 30s and 40s, so that by the time we hit our 50s, we'll see a significant decline in enzyme production going forward.
I shall state my preferred choice of term: to evolve, rather than to get old. I make this specific choice to demonstrate that evolving means yes, there'll be change. The maturing of your emotions and thoughts will also progress to a level that you may not recognize yourself, how you've become more professional, clear-headed, focused and sophisticated, and less inclined to make impulse decisions that take you down the trodden path to trouble. It all boils down to evolving to the point of being able to regulate your emotions like a Kung Fu master. Trouble of course is fun! When you have a willing partner, you can create a whole lot of trouble together. However, the end result of creating too much trouble is derailing your life and this may lead to severe indigestion. HaHaHa!
Then we enter into the amino acids realm, where our body produces at least 11 of the essential 20 amino acids we need to function at an optimum level. If our bodies fail to produce amino acids, due to poor nutrition, this will then lead to a loss in protein as well as muscle loss. The essential amino acids that we need in our diet include: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, tryptophan, threonine and valine. You are welcome to research which foods to eat, to ensure that these amino acids are part of your daily diet or you can do what I do and ingest a protein shake, plant-based, that is formulated with a wide range of amino acids. You'll notice that your digestion improves too, not to mention the value of ensuring that protein is part of your diet, what healthcare professionals are now stressing, how proteins are essential to brain cognitive functioning.
Diet, exercise, flexing that brain muscle with teasers and challenges, are all part of the long chain of events and actions that are vital to helping you to cope with the evolution of your body. I recall having a good laugh when I watched Michael Caine being interviewed on a late-night show. He was in his mid-80s at the time. The host commented how good he looked, how svelte his body was, to which Mr. Cain replied, "Oh that's because I can't eat anything." He's now in his early 90s and still going. Also, and while reading one of my current scientific books on longevity, the author references some rare instances of persons who've enjoyed unusually long lives, despite their lifestyle. One man who lived to the age of 128 had attributed his long life to whiskey, cigarettes and wild women. 🤣
This seems to me to be the best approach to life: live smart, live long, rather than to live fast and die young. As I've evolved, I've grown to like myself very much. I may still too often second-guess my own spelling ability but I like how I treat people, and how over the years I've learned to separate the wheat form the chafe, to know which persons into whose integrity I'll place my trust vs those persons who are a waste of time. I still fuck up, however, and misplace my trust, because none of us is all-seeing, and some persons you'll encounter are masters of deception and game playing. Eventually, however, the penny will hit the floor and you'll figure it out.
Be mindful too about having your appointments on a regular basis to check your eyes, ears and teeth. Ask any dentist and they'll be able to make an assessment of your health based on the state of your teeth alone; they miss little.
We may evolve but this doesn't mean that we have to allow the degradation of every element of our life just because this evolution is the actual road to life.
In the immortal words of Mr. Spock, "Live long and prosper."
Most recently I read that as we evolve (rather than get old), our brain processes memories differently as more time passes between the here and now, and recalling the memory. So despite how a memory might have felt like it occurred only just yesterday, when we recall it, our waking brain reminds us that the memory is in fact from decades past. This is what hits hardest, knowing that much time has passed, rather than rolling out the memory with only just the warm, fuzzy feelings. I call this process: time's rude-reminder.
There are many reminders of the passage of time. The first for me is the wear and tear on our bodies. If you're like me, who's been involved in competitive sports from the time of pre-teen, you'll notice it even more when your reflexes begin that inevitable downward spiral to slow-down-town. I played competitive softball for over a decade, not an all-female team but a mixed team. This gave it an edge, the kind of aggressiveness that can typically come from men. The guys on the team out-numbered the women. It was a rule that coaches were not required to field more than three woman vs six men, so the women who played on the team had to be as fast as the guys, even though we knew we weren't. We tried! I pitched and I dodged fast-balls coming back at me like canons, whenever some guys stepped up to the plate with the intention of killing the ball, rather than having the skill to cherry-pick a spot, to place the ball. The time came, however, when I slowed down and wasn't fast enough, to either catch the ball fired back at me or to step out of the way. I tried playing different roles, like Rover, or short-stop and center field. It wasn't the same as being the pitcher, right in the middle of all the action. Eventually I had no choice but to step away from this competitive sport in my mid-30s, despite still feeling young and foolish, and absolutely not having lost my love of playing the game. I tried as an alternative to play lob-ball which drove me nuts. It was awful, slow, and purposely de-fanged to make it less dangerous. I will admit that competitive softball is dangerous, if you're the pitcher, given that no one on the team wears protective gear, other than the catcher and umpire.
Age made the decision for me, not my willing spirit. My body had betrayed me, basically. Naughty body. Just because you may lead an athletic life, the way I was living; cycling, walking, hitting the gym, karate classes three times a week, rowing each day as well as playing softball at least three times week — doesn't mean the tendons in your body will behave the way you want them to, so I adjusted... or rather I evolved. I gave up my beloved softball to stick with other athletic pursuits.
It's bred into us to rationalize. Our brains are coded with lessons learned from childhood. How we compartmentalize the chain of events in our life is typically a direct correlation to how we view life. If, as an example, every day is viewed as a gift, memories of the past may more often than not be pulled up with fondness. The opposite is true too, that to remember past days, which may not have been so wonderful, against the framework of present troubles, then there is a strong likelihood of harboring a foreboding feeling for the future, which has yet to reveal itself. Though, I'm fond of telling myself that despite how your environment growing up may have shaped you, this doesn't mean that you're not in possession of the power to change, to break destructive cycles.
You're in the driver's seat.
Because I enjoy reading all things: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, travelogues, scientific articles, and to listen occasionally to podcasts about physical and mental health, I'm becoming more and more shocked by the statistics on dementia and Alzheimer's. It's expected that 40% of the aging population will exhibit signs of dementia, well before their retirement years. So, to put a finer point on it, dementia is an umbrella term to define that an individual is experiencing a cognitive decline in memory, reasoning and behavior. If you've an elderly person in your life, then you'll understand this comment insofar that you'll be surprised by their dramatic shifts in personality. Whereas, Alzheimer's is considered to be a specific brain disease and the most common cause of dementia.
These brain conditions are telltale signs of advanced aging vs the casual symptoms of aging, to which I shall repeat I refer to as 'evolving', which I trust by now you'll agree is a less egregious term than the tired label of 'getting old' — symptoms of decline and frailty that slither up quietly next to you, unknowingly, as you go about your life, thinking you're absolutely marvelous.
When I worked for two Conservative politicians, in my 20s, I recall how my ability to spell on a dime was lightning fast, and yet as the decades have rolled on by, I began to second-guess myself, to check my spelling, which I still do to this day. I've retained my vocabulary, and there's always room for growth in this regard, but for the most part, my first attempt to spell a long-syllable word is correct yet I've passed that youthful stage of brazen confidence. Instead, now I carefully consider my way of writing to have evolved, wherein I re-consider my choice of words, and their spelling. I didn't ask for this stage to present itself. It came into my life on its own. Another example of the process of evolution.
The other telltale sign that indicates you're no longer a kid in the candy shop is your digestive system.
Our bodies produce enzymes which are an essential process for digestion, metabolism and building muscle. Some doctors contend that these enzymes are critical to support these life processes. I could list some of these processes but instead it's vital to state the importance of one particular body part, the pancreas, which produces the most enzymes needed in our body. There are also salivary glands, stomach and small intestine — all of which produce enzymes. Enzymes, just to put this subject under a microscope, are the reason why your body is able to speed up the processing of chemicals, to absorb the nutrients from the food you eat, and this applies to processing the alcohols you drink. For me, I've been one of these rude types of people who can enjoy a drink or two and stop, while everyone else around me is just beginning to get revved up. I've never enjoyed getting drunk, more than likely because I can't really handle it. But my world had turned over for me the day my body was no longer able to process the consumption of my favorite British ale. Whenever I'd drink one measly pint, my stomach would turn to rot.
Again, no one asked me if I wanted to change. The wheels of time kept on spinning, as has my body to evolve, no longer able to produce the same levels of enzymes to eat the way I did in my 20s. When you research this vital subject, to educate yourself, you'll quickly discover that your body begins its inevitable decline in the late 20s and early 30s, producing less and less enzymes; hence why many of us will make it a habit of taking a prebiotic, before meals, followed by a probiotic, after meals. The gradual decline of enzymes takes full flight in our late 30s and 40s, so that by the time we hit our 50s, we'll see a significant decline in enzyme production going forward.
I shall state my preferred choice of term: to evolve, rather than to get old. I make this specific choice to demonstrate that evolving means yes, there'll be change. The maturing of your emotions and thoughts will also progress to a level that you may not recognize yourself, how you've become more professional, clear-headed, focused and sophisticated, and less inclined to make impulse decisions that take you down the trodden path to trouble. It all boils down to evolving to the point of being able to regulate your emotions like a Kung Fu master. Trouble of course is fun! When you have a willing partner, you can create a whole lot of trouble together. However, the end result of creating too much trouble is derailing your life and this may lead to severe indigestion. HaHaHa!
Then we enter into the amino acids realm, where our body produces at least 11 of the essential 20 amino acids we need to function at an optimum level. If our bodies fail to produce amino acids, due to poor nutrition, this will then lead to a loss in protein as well as muscle loss. The essential amino acids that we need in our diet include: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, tryptophan, threonine and valine. You are welcome to research which foods to eat, to ensure that these amino acids are part of your daily diet or you can do what I do and ingest a protein shake, plant-based, that is formulated with a wide range of amino acids. You'll notice that your digestion improves too, not to mention the value of ensuring that protein is part of your diet, what healthcare professionals are now stressing, how proteins are essential to brain cognitive functioning.
Diet, exercise, flexing that brain muscle with teasers and challenges, are all part of the long chain of events and actions that are vital to helping you to cope with the evolution of your body. I recall having a good laugh when I watched Michael Caine being interviewed on a late-night show. He was in his mid-80s at the time. The host commented how good he looked, how svelte his body was, to which Mr. Cain replied, "Oh that's because I can't eat anything." He's now in his early 90s and still going. Also, and while reading one of my current scientific books on longevity, the author references some rare instances of persons who've enjoyed unusually long lives, despite their lifestyle. One man who lived to the age of 128 had attributed his long life to whiskey, cigarettes and wild women. 🤣
This seems to me to be the best approach to life: live smart, live long, rather than to live fast and die young. As I've evolved, I've grown to like myself very much. I may still too often second-guess my own spelling ability but I like how I treat people, and how over the years I've learned to separate the wheat form the chafe, to know which persons into whose integrity I'll place my trust vs those persons who are a waste of time. I still fuck up, however, and misplace my trust, because none of us is all-seeing, and some persons you'll encounter are masters of deception and game playing. Eventually, however, the penny will hit the floor and you'll figure it out.
Be mindful too about having your appointments on a regular basis to check your eyes, ears and teeth. Ask any dentist and they'll be able to make an assessment of your health based on the state of your teeth alone; they miss little.
We may evolve but this doesn't mean that we have to allow the degradation of every element of our life just because this evolution is the actual road to life.
In the immortal words of Mr. Spock, "Live long and prosper."
