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The getting old curse – How are you dealing with it?


tomgreen

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8 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Yes-but are we as a species really able to contemplate our own personal extinction?

Like soldiers in a trench we are certainly able to visualize the extinction of others (him-but not me..) but could we ever go "over the top" if our self extinction was assured?

After all we know that we will (hopefully) recover from the anaesthetic and that "being" is the only yardstick we can use when contemplating "nothingness".

Kerry Packer was resuscitated after a heart attack. It prompted him to fund defibrillators for the Sydney paramedics.

He said to James Packer afterwards " Son, I've been to the other side, and there's nothing there".

Of course, the sanctimonious would claim there was nothing there for him.

IMHO the Buddhist concept of Nirvana is the most realistic. A Paradise with 72 virgins, dates, raisins or whatever strikes your fancy? Pull the other leg, it's got bells on.

 

 

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20 hours ago, giddyup said:

For a start I avoid mirrors at all costs, but I also try not to think about death being just around the corner, it's inevitable anyway and can only cause major depression if you become too fixated on it. At 77 I worry more about being sick and infirmed rather than actually dying.

Just a short anecdote concerning hair. Back on my 18.4 acres in W. Kentucky and on the tractor mowing. After that days mowing I returned to shower. Back of my head was burning a bit. I figured maybe tree sap... I had combed my hair looking in the mirror for years but, I took a hand mirror to get the reflection of the back of my head. I had been scalped! The burning was sunburn. I have worn a hat ever since, as much out of vanity as protecting from sunburn here in Thailand. Still comb my hair but refuse to even consider the back of my head!

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20 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

Apologies if I just planted  Frank Sinatra into your head ???? 

and I thought you were a nice guy....
still crooning somewhere above my eyes ...
even watching "all quiet please" made it worse.

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20 hours ago, giddyup said:

Problem is, the older you get the less motivated you become, and possible physical limitations prevent you doing those things as well.

Just my humble perspective. The physical aging is upon me, I cannot ignore. Hiked in the Alps over a decade ago and knew it was my last overnight sojourn in mountain terrain. I keep telling myself that aging graciously is the most important. Buddha forbid my being in plaid Bermuda shorts with socks and sandals with a comb-over or hair dye (ala The Donald).

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19 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Kerry Packer was resuscitated after a heart attack. It prompted him to fund defibrillators for the Sydney paramedics.

He said to James Packer afterwards " Son, I've been to the other side, and there's nothing there".

Of course, the sanctimonious would claim there was nothing there for him.

IMHO the Buddhist concept of Nirvana is the most realistic. A Paradise with 72 virgins, dates, raisins or whatever strikes your fancy? Pull the other leg, it's got bells on.

 

 

My post has nothing to do with Kerry Packer (I knew him personally) eating manna in heaven or exceedingly saucy virgins..so I don't have to pull any legs and you ain't going to have a tug at my titanium one either.????

 

My post solely looked at the question of whether Homo Sapiens as a species can visualize/comprehend self extinction on a personal level.

 

I think not but am certainly open to counter arguments on the subject.

 

By the way my post actually included an intellectual play on words as one of the great philosophical texts of the 20th Century was Jean Paul Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness'

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Just now, wwest5829 said:

Just my humble perspective. The physical aging is upon me, I cannot ignore. Hiked in the Alps over a decade ago and knew it was my last overnight sojourn in mountain terrain. I keep telling myself that aging graciously is the most important. Buddha forbid my being in plaid Bermuda shorts with socks and sandals with a comb-over or hair dye (ala The Donald).

you mean you do not approve of my weekend in Pattaya outfit?
Just to you know, I got many smiles .

beach fashion.jpg

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20 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Disagree, things don't happen because you are certain age. Yes deterioration happens but that effects different people in different ways based on many factors of which actual age figures probably the least.

The topic strikes him at age 72 but my tack is somewhat different and you touch on it here. On one hand we are all the same but then all individuals at the same time (we can honestly wear T-shirts, Same, Same but Different. I have not made it past reading the first page of posts yet but.... While the physical aging is taking place, it is occurring at different rates for each person. The chronological age is not the same as the physiological age. Which calls up, in my mind that there are two major considerations to Tom’s question. I have the heart surgery scars supporting my having cheated death on more than one occasion. Still, I am currently just parking along fine. But the other point raised is the mental stat and here, we'll, I am much younger than my years (OK, make a joke about my being immature... You would not be the first). No, what I find is that my mind continues to be very active, perhaps due to my profession, constant inquiry, constant reading is past of my life and I hope it will be so to the end. Not enough hours in the day and I am fully retired. The other thing that enters is my be in Buddhist and viewing death as yet another passage in my life. Not to be rushed into but neither to be feared. My biggest fear would be incapacity to take the life-ending pill and being a burden on someone else.

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2 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

My post has nothing to do with Kerry Packer (I knew him personally) eating manna in heaven or exceedingly saucy virgins..so I don't have to pull any legs and you ain't going to have a tug at my titanium one either.????

 

My post solely looked at the question of whether Homo Sapiens as a species can visualize self extinction on a personal level.

 

I think not but am certainly open to counter arguments on the subject.

 

By the way my post actually included an intellectual play on words as one of the great philosophical texts of the 20th Century was Jean Paul Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness'

Well, some can't, otherwise no-one would fight in wars or kill each other over religious differences.

Individually, I'm sure some of us accept we will die eventually. The common refrain is "Just not yet, please".

I think many get to a stage when they want to die. David Goodall was an example.

I don't have a problem with dying. It's the length of the process that worries many.

Descartes does it for me. Evidence people are capable of thought after death is elusive. 

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12 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Well, some can't, otherwise no-one would fight in wars or kill each other over religious differences.

Individually, I'm sure some of us accept we will die eventually. The common refrain is "Just not yet, please".

I think many get to a stage when they want to die. David Goodall was an example.

I don't have a problem with dying. It's the length of the process that worries many.

Descartes does it for me. Evidence people are capable of thought after death is elusive. 

Yes-but dying is not death.We are still in the "being" stage.

 

We can contemplate dying but do we really comprehend death-personal self extinction?I think not.We,as a species would be monstrously psychologically and emotionally crippled if we did.

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I am kept young thinking and acting by having a partner who is half my age. We do things including sex laugh a lot and enjoy life. Although age (I am 75 yo)has taken its toll with health problems and a desire to rest and sleep more It is more than balanced with having fun and enjoying today without thinking about the future other than ensuring my will is up to date 

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On 9/15/2019 at 9:00 PM, musicscene said:

I am kept young thinking and acting by having a partner who is half my age. We do things including sex laugh a lot and enjoy life. Although age (I am 75 yo)has taken its toll with health problems and a desire to rest and sleep more It is more than balanced with having fun and enjoying today without thinking about the future other than ensuring my will is up to date 

You have sex laugh a lot with your partner , do you tell each other jokes or tickle each other during the process ?

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the world is pretty messed up now, not what we had hoped for in the late 60's.  the planet is doomed and it's going to take more than recycling plastic bottles to fix it.  the horrors of climate change are upon us and the human race is simply too selfish to adopt a drastic change in lifestyle.  it's all about me now and the younger generation has sold out already.  for a moment in 68 things looked hopeful. we where so lucky to have been born and to have lived when we did.

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4 hours ago, Mac98 said:

At 77 I swim daily. Thailand is a country where you don't have to act your age. Always think there are new adventures ahead. I had a fantastic time with a new girlfriend on a special New Year's Eve, my 75th birthday. You are only as old as who you eat. ????

'i like your attitude and agree with the excellent points that you make..

i think thailand is a great place to grow old..if my health stays good, i can afford to pay a qualified 'live in' nurse/cook/chaufer..for my late 80s and 90s, or if my health deteriorates, maybe its best to return home...

i will also be doing my best to spend my money....its no good  when im dead...

fortunately, i know how to 'sort out' money grabbing thai ladies---ive met plenty who like having a good time, without asking for money money money...

 

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I've just come back home, it's 5.30pm ...

I've had 7 bottles of beer and i'm half passed.  I'm really tired and i'm ready   …….

I'm in the waiting room and sitting on the white sofa. As soon as the white french door open and the bright lights call me ... i'm gone ..I will walk toward them.  I'm drunk and I've enjoyed you all.

 

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First a BIG thanks to every one , Ive read all your advice , suggestions and comments.:thumbsup:

 

I am fairly convince that coming to permanently live in Thailand has in some way made me look older than my actual years and certainly added to my I’m getting old and on the downwards slope mind set. I have this funny feeling that if I had stayed back in my home country my over all physical appearance and mental state would have been in a far better condition than it is now here in Thailand .

 

Just to add I made a big mistake and originally came under the spell of Thailand and all I thought it had to offer , I sold every thing back home that I once owned and burnt all my bridges that would allow me to ever return home ????

 

 So how about you - do you feel that if you had remained back in your home country and not moved to Thailand , that in some way if you had not moved here you would now be in a better state of mind and possibly looking physically better than you do now residing in Thailand .

 

 

 

.

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8 minutes ago, tomgreen said:

First a BIG thanks to every one , Ive read all your advice , suggestions and comments.:thumbsup:

 

I am fairly convince that coming to permanently live in Thailand has in some way made me look older than my actual years and certainly added to my I’m getting old and on the downwards slope mind set. I have this funny feeling that if I had stayed back in my home country my over all physical appearance and mental state would have been in a far better condition than it is now here in Thailand .

 

Just to add I made a big mistake and originally came under the spell of Thailand and all I thought it had to offer , I sold every thing back home that I once owned and burnt all my bridges that would allow me to ever return home ????

 

 So how about you - do you feel that if you had remained back in your home country and not moved to Thailand , that in some way if you had not moved here you would now be in a better state of mind and possibly looking physically better than you do now residing in Thailand .

 

 

 

.

tom,  i'm really tired and i'm ready to go

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2 hours ago, sanemax said:

You have sex laugh a lot with your partner , do you tell each other jokes or tickle each other during the process ?

Usually my chosen lady starts laughing and pointing when I drop trow.

 

Thats maybe my only thai phrase: "what is THAT?"

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19 hours ago, wisperone said:

I always take a full size aspirin before getting on the plane to thin the blood. If doing one of the 30+ hour flites, will take another or half before getting on the next leg of the journey. 

Flight stockings, while unattractive fashion wise, are also helpful. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Kerry Packer was resuscitated after a heart attack. It prompted him to fund defibrillators for the Sydney paramedics.

He said to James Packer afterwards " Son, I've been to the other side, and there's nothing there".

Of course, the sanctimonious would claim there was nothing there for him.

IMHO the Buddhist concept of Nirvana is the most realistic. A Paradise with 72 virgins, dates, raisins or whatever strikes your fancy? Pull the other leg, it's got bells on.

 

 

72 virgins?? with all the dead people they would be pretty well worn by now

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I think if I'd stayed in blighty, I'd have dry skin from the cold wind, manky white skin, & endless colds & 'flu.

 

A trip to see my GP, would result in him saying:

 

" Take some paracetamol & Ibuprofen."

 

Oh yea...& Bankruptcy from paying the utilities bill.

 

So to answer your last question Tom, I'm much healthier & mentally stable - coz I'm married to a loving, caring wife.

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23 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

I'm only 58 so not sure I am allowed to comment. I do worry about one thing in relation to getting old - that I'll conk out before Spurs win the EPL. 

 

On a slightly more serious note I think that having the attention and needs of very young children around me means that I have few times to dwell. I honestly obsessed about getting old far more when I was in my twenties than I do now and I don't think that is set to change in my sixties or seventies. Also I have passed through medical emergencies in which I believed that I was extremely unlikely to see even 50 years of age; this means that now nearing 60 I am thankful for every day I wake up even if my back hurts or my three year old needs chasing around the pool table. Having a cerebral interest - worldwide tournament Scrabble and the practice regimen needed to retain a reasonably high world ranking - also keeps the mental acuity quite finely tuned. Work is also a big factor for me and it is inconceivable that I would consider giving up writing for a living, ever. 

 

Positive thinking and a very active life, especially mentally, are key components for me and will continue. Maintaining a healthy diet and following the advice of my doctor (a Thai who is a Man City supporter) are also important. He thinks I have a fair chance of seeing Harry lift the EPL trophy...

 

Rooster

Haha, you were a baby when the spuds last won a league title, and I'm not sure they've 

won anything since you were in your 30's

 

Mind you I've been doing the lottery since it began and had similar success!!!

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5 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Haha, you were a baby when the spuds last won a league title, and I'm not sure they've 

won anything since you were in your 30's

 

Mind you I've been doing the lottery since it began and had similar success!!!

I was still in the womb. 

 

I went to England when they won the league cup in 2008 when I was 46. But I never got a ticket....

 

Rooster

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On 9/15/2019 at 4:40 PM, CharlieH said:

Age is nothing more than a number, ignore the numbers as there is nothing you can do about those.

It's about how you feel, and your own attitude, you can decide how that goes, don't focus too far ahead as you may never get there any way.

Focus in the now the more immediate future and what you are going to do with it while you are still able, healthy etc. 

Focus on what you can do, not what you can't.

Perfect advice. But the frame of mind should be developed when a person is healthy and fit - example 50 years of age.

Unfortunately, with the advancement of years, some find it difficult to keep things in focus. Circumstances, health, physiological conditions can make an elderly person 'anti-social' or a 'difficult' person to deal with and these very same traits will expedite the aging process.

 

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