It is a truth universally acknowledged that the second half of one’s life – any one’s life – passes more quickly than the first half.
I am afraid I have no explanation for this phenomenon. Perhaps it is that when you are twenty years old, a year represents five per cent of your existence on earth, whereas when you are fifty years old, a single year constitutes a much smaller fraction - just one fiftieth or two per cent - of your life. It may be that, like a stone rolling down a hill, our journey becomes faster and faster as we near our journey’s end.
Making Life Enjoyable
But the fact remains that in life, it is not so much the destination we are heading towards that is important – it is the journey and what we make of it. And as we get older, it is important that we ensure that our life is as enjoyable for ourselves and as beneficial to humanity (and as healthy as we can make it!) as it was when we were young.
Travelling through Singapore recently I noticed that they were advertising a festival called “50 Plus Expo 2011,” which will be held from April 1st to 3rd 2011 – the third such exhibition staged in that country by their Council for the 3rd Age (C3A). Designed with the objective of promoting Active Ageing, this exhibition is focusing on that nation’s large population of baby boomers (those born between 1947 and 1964, who are now aged from 44 to 61 years) who will soon be approaching the age of retirement.
Average Life Span Getting Longer
With the average life span of both men and women throughout the world now reaching well into the seventies, it is imperative that those who are in or near their sixties start planning for the years when they will not be in full- time employment and their children have grown up - and they become vulnerable, if they are not careful, to the chronic diseases of old age.
The Singapore Expo is using the theme ‘Live, Learn, Play’ and is emphasizing the six dimensions of health – Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, Intellectual, Vocational, and Social.
Tips for Healthy Ageing
Among the things it is suggested that folk consider doing to ensure that they age successfully are:
- Ensure that they maintain the “Three Ss of Fitness – maintaining Stamina through regular activities like walking and swimming or playing games like golf and tennis; maintaining Strength by repeatedly doing resistive exercises ( gym work, push-ups, squats, etc.); and maintaining Suppleness through mobility exercises such as Pilates and Yoga.
- Developing a hobby – something not related to one’s work that stimulates the mind and provides an interesting activity that one enjoys. It may be playing Bridge or Scrabble, learning about a new subject or even a new language, reading, writing, gardening – anything to which you can devote pleasurable and brain-exercising hours.
- Stay connected – to your family, your friends and your community. Volunteer your time to do things for others – they will benefit and so will you.
All this will help to ensure that the second half of your life – although it will seem to move faster than the first – will not be a period of boredom, mental deterioration, and poor health.
Sanjiva Wijesinha - Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha, Associate Professor at Monash University medical school, writes on health, travel and medical topics.
