Beech Tree News Network

I just had a birthday, and they can cause us to reflect or consider the future. I used to think that someone my age would be wise, but I don’t necessarily believe that now. Wisdom may be defined as having knowledge and the capacity to use it; having discernment and judgment; and having discretion (http://www.webster-dictionary.net/d.aspx?w=wisdom). We certainly learn as we go through life, and discernment and judgment –like muscles – develop.

We know our brains change with age. Wondering what we could do to benefit brain function, I searched the Internet. One article provided interesting information. Daniel G. Amen, M.D., explained that boosting brain power results in increased energy levels, stronger memory skills, increased attention span, decreased impulsiveness, and maintaining weight loss (http://www.danielplan.com/healthyhabits/brainboosters/). The article provided common sense ways to support brain function:
•    Use your brain. For example, new learning creates new brain connections. Asking “then what” questions also helps in decision making.
•    Habitually eat a healthy diet.
•    Take a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement as well as a daily fish oil supplement.
•    Exercise may be the most important step in keeping the brain healthy.
•    Getting eight hours of sleep has been proven to help brain function.
•    Keep blood sugar in balance.
•    Work at being a positive thinker, and focus on things for which you are grateful.
•    Balance your brain chemistry. Maintain control by seeking help for problems such as ADHD, anxiety, and depression.
Although these suggestions seem logical, at times we may not notice unhealthy patterns in our lives.

Many have commented about aging, and some of those quotes are listed below (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_age.html):
•    The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything. Oscar Wilde
•    Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order. John Adams
•    As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do. Andrew Carnegie
•    Men are like wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. Pope John XXIII
•    I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am. Francis Bacon
•    Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you. Ogden Nash
•    Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday. Eleanor Roosevelt
•    Forty is the old age of youth, fifty is the youth of old age. Hosea Ballou
•    Old age is no place for sissies. Bette Davis

I’ve lived six-plus decades, and what have I learned? Very simply, I learned to be who I’ve become. Like most people from birth to age10, I learned survival skills and about right and wrong. My family was the center of my world. During my youth (ages 11-19), I learned social skills. I made friends, found my husband, and chose a career. During my young adult years (ages 20-30), I began working and having children. These were good years: long hours, but very happy times. During my adult years (31-60), I focused on work and family. My children were growing up, leaving home, and choosing their own paths (And, I like the people my children became.). Grandchildren were added to our family – each one unique and loved! Very good times! Then, I learned about some of life’s transitions: caring for an increasingly ill spouse, retiring from work, and learning to live as a widow. As a senior adult (past 60), I’m learning to concentrate on priorities: how to help those I love, how to pace myself (Energy must be rebuilt.), and how to look to the future – recognizing that time is a blessing, but limited.

Life is filled with lessons. As Mordochai said to Esther (Esther 4:14 NIV), “…who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” And, who knows whether each of us has not come to life for such a time as this?