EXERCISE, THE MAGIC ELIXIR (3)

(New thoughts are posted each Monday and Thursday)

These thoughts are for those of us who a bit longer removed from our birthday than others.

I remember the day I no longer wanted to play in a sand pile. I would never have believed it would happen. And then, later on when I no longer enjoyed Abbott and Costello. It happens. Don’t fight it. Our tastes in books, music, movies, vacations and a host of other opportunities change.

Sometimes physical problems force modification on us. We can no longer ski or skate; a tennis ball can no longer be hit as hard. If nothing is introduced into the space our prior activities occupied, a vacuum arises. And vacuums need to be filled. Jog if you can, but if you can’t join an aerobics class. If this is too much, try power walking, which simply means walking as fast as you can. Try dancing slowly to an old record. Rather than aimlessly throwing your arms around, put on your favorite CD and conduct an imaginary orchestra.

Or, go back to school and learn landscape architecture, computers, history, painting, etc. Professors will love having you. “My older students act more interested than many of my younger students,” a professor at the University of Miami recently told me.

Diet? Often that must also change. I no longer drink as much coffee as once I did, but half a cup does quite fine and has become a real treat. I restrict my input of ice cream. Indeed, I’ve switched to fat free/sugar free (some of them now are quite good). I know extra pounds otherwise leave the sidelines and land on me.

To remain young we must be willing to change, otherwise, we grow old long before our time.