{"id":2669,"date":"2012-09-03T14:23:42","date_gmt":"2012-09-03T19:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=2669"},"modified":"2012-08-31T14:24:23","modified_gmt":"2012-08-31T19:24:23","slug":"growing-old-with-dignity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=2669","title":{"rendered":"Growing old with dignity. . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

I just returned from my 55th high school reunion in Lafayette, IN. \u00a0As I write this, I am amazed that five and a half decades have passed since nearly 350 of us walked across the Jefferson High School Auditorium stage to get our diplomas. \u00a0I am even more amazed at how vibrant we still are; how interested in the world at large, and at how creative so many of my classmates have become. \u00a0One of my friends who had been a banker for 45 years is now an accomplished, award-winning painter. \u00a0You can see a sampling of his pastels at Ronburgessart.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Another classmate, Phil Burgess, recently published a book: Reboot! What to do when your career is over but your life isn’t.<\/strong> \u00a0An excellent book for all of us who are in the process of “retooling” our lives and charting a new direction. \u00a0Check it out at amazon.com. \u00a0And then there is a friend who is losing her eyesight due to macular degeneration and small strokes in one eye. \u00a0And yet, she lives wholly and with great dignity, always wearing a smile and helping others see the brighter side of every situation. \u00a0She most definitely serves as an example of one who is doing this too.<\/p>\n

Classmates have survived cancer, strokes, Parkinson’s Disease, along with many less severe ailments. \u00a0Probably everyone of us present felt a bit sore, on Sunday, because of the late night hours; particularly those of us who jitterbugged Saturday night. \u00a0But the most important point about this blog post is that we continue to be supportive of each other; we know how and when to let bygones, be bygones. \u00a0And we know that friendship is more important than our differing political or religious views. \u00a0Knowing how to be kind rather than insisting on being right is a lesson most of us have learned, somewhere along this path we traverse.<\/p>\n

I know where and when I was introduced to that most important principle, and it has turned my life around. \u00a0No longer must I finish a discussion that has taken a left turn. \u00a0No longer must I try to convince any one else that my perspective is more valid than theirs. \u00a0No longer must I stay engaged in a discussion that has no for-see-able peaceful outcome. \u00a0I consider this a hallmark of growing old with dignity.<\/p>\n

It is often said that with age, comes wisdom. \u00a0I’m not sure this is always true, but I am sure that I have \u00a0grown a bit wiser with age. \u00a0I have learned to appreciate our differences rather than accentuate them and make someone wrong or different. \u00a0I have learned that within every discussion if a pearl of enlightenment. \u00a0And I have learned that those I meet on my particular path have been sent to help me grow. \u00a0That’s the most important awareness of all. \u00a0How grateful I am to every one who walks with me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just returned from my 55th high school reunion in Lafayette, IN. \u00a0As I write this, I am amazed that five and a half decades have passed since nearly 350 of us walked across the Jefferson High School Auditorium stage to get our diplomas. \u00a0I am even more amazed at how vibrant we still are; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-musings","category-reflections-in-the-mirror-you-and-yourself"],"yoast_head":"\nGrowing old with dignity. . . | Karen Casey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=2669\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Growing old with dignity. . . | Karen Casey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I just returned from my 55th high school reunion in Lafayette, IN. \u00a0As I write this, I am amazed that five and a half decades have passed since nearly 350 of us walked across the Jefferson High School Auditorium stage to get our diplomas. \u00a0I am even more amazed at how vibrant we still are; 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