Re:Want to Be Happy? Think Like an Old Person (2017)
by kilroy123 on Friday April 06, 2018 @09:33PM
(#16778932)
I agree completely. My aunt, well my great aunt actually, is 93. She is literally more active than me! She goes bowling, still, drives, volunteers, goes to church, and visits family and friends often. She is still very with it mentally, but I will admit after 90 she has declined mentally a bit.
My point is, this woman has touched a lot of people's lives within her 'old' age. She helped my family out a lot at one point. She's spent decades volunteering. She's been there for a lot of people and IMO helped to make the world a slightly better place in her own way.
It's never too late.
One of my childhood heroes was Plutarch's Timoleon, a famous Corinthian general who decisively defeated the Carthaginians in Sicily in 339 BC and freed the Greek cities of that region from their tyrants. [0] He was over 70 when he did so. By Plutarch's account at least he accomplished little of note before embarking on the campaign in Sicily but at that point turned out to be an outstanding strategist as well as politician.
We live a long time. I have 12 years to go before reaching 70 and still hope to live up to Timoleon's example.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timoleon