The light of mind and soul can shine ever more brightly even as our bodies grow old.
— Gabor Mate M.D.
Baby boomers are now spending one-third of their lives in retirement. Age possibly brings its share of cognitive and physical deterioration. Golden years also attach other unavoidable losses, such as farewell with long-time colleagues, inefficient performance, and demotivation in achieving goals. Moreover, the elders may sense their life is meaningless because they witness relatives and friends leave one after another.
Is aging indicating the entry to unproductivity and uselessness?
Hong Lok Senior Center assists our members in experiencing retirement as a gift and enjoying this time by far the richest and happiest of their lives.
First, seniors must take good care of their bodies and maintain strength for enjoying and engaging in purposeful action in the years ahead while making a meaningful contribution to the world of tomorrow.
Theodore Roszak has a new vision of how greatly seniors may treasure their values and career accomplishments regardless of their success stories. The past is not enough. As he described:
Boomers who will usher us into senior dominance are the best-educated, most socially conscientious, most politically savvy older generation the world has ever seen. Given sufficient awareness and inspiration, I believe that the age will want to do good things with the power that history has unexpectedly thrust upon it in its senior years.
In the Hong Lok Senior Center, we noticed some members are enthusiastic about calligraphy; a group is striving to coach the youth. Some are passionate advocates who fundraise for those in need, and others contribute life experiences to bolster humanity. All such activities somehow shape society for a better future, which proves the positive tendency in the world.
We also discovered the elders are flexing their empathy muscles and constantly learning to recognize the inherent values of each other. We must acknowledge that these energetic seniors are a privileged group. They have so much and want to contribute, always not enough time to accomplish everything in a day. They are the proof of positive that aging is a time to soar on the current of hope in human goodness. Every member is a unique, rapidly moving cohort toward a new horizon that flourishes their lives that feels energizing and purposeful.
Contributed by Johnny DaRosa
