Is Aging A Blessing?

I note that it’s the people in their 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s who do most of the writing and commenting about “being old.” A few claim that aging is a blessing; however, not being there and having age as their own experience makes “knowing” impossible.

I am old, about to be 96, and still have awareness, memory, and a creative bent. I write essays and poetry and am about to publish a third book on current issues concerning leadership, power, communication, and the world’s challenges. Yet, none of this makes my getting older a “blessing.” The blessing is in my creativity, not my aging.

“Old” means not being who you were in so many ways that I won’t take the time or space to note them. Clearly, being old sucks for those of us who are really old despite being fantasized about as a “blessing” by those not there yet.
Perhaps these younger individuals are whistling in the dark out of sheer fear for what is to come. The old have no need to conjecture. They are in the very center of the storm and have a real sense of its outcome. The old may not speak about this, but they know what being old is. Words are inadequate. Only “It is what it is” comes close.

I loved my life and the many challenges Lenette and I faced almost daily. I love her and do so even more today. I know it will all end in the not-too-distant future. How in the world can I see this as a “blessing?”

The sand not endless—It runs out on all of us—time is limited.
Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

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