I love these old dudes from the Muppets Show. They would sit in their private balcony and review whatever was being presented at the time. Of course, their reviews were always negative and left me thinking “Is this as good as it gets when you grow old?” It’s true, that when we age, we tend to find the dark side of things rather than focusing on the good. If we season the darkness with a measure of humor, we will have a much better outlook on life.

So, when you get older, what is that better outlook? I think it’s the same as it was when we were children, but in slow motion. We can look at the world and find ugliness or beauty. As a child, all of our experiences are brand new to us. We can’t wait to try things we’ve never done. The thought of taking a rapid river run may not occur to us at the age of 80, but sitting in a kayak, floating down a winding river, doing absolutely nothing, can achieve the same result. Parachuting out of a plane might be compelling to some, but you can get the same effect by laying in a hammock and staring at the clouds. We can decide that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, or we can choose to buy a set of paints and create a painting of the beauty that dwells within that world. Our bodies are slowing down along with our minds, but that doesn’t mean we must throw in the towel.

You might find joy in traveling – in golfing – in art or writing – in making people laugh. Whatever you enjoyed doing at the age of twelve, you will probably get satisfaction from now. Our tasks as senior citizens are modified to fit our abilities and talents. Just because life is slowing us down physically and sometimes mentally, we’re still alive and we have purpose. Even when spring cleaning consists of dusting your furniture rather than a complete deep purge and sanitizing, we can do the task with gusto. We can still do the same things we did. We simply adapt to our new, old bodies and push on for the prize.

“You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand” Psalm 16:11