Meditation will help you age gracefully

How old are you? You are as old as you feel - as old as the shine in your eyes and the tinkle in your laughter. You are as old as the strength in your arms, the determination in your mind, and the passion in your heart. So how old do you think you are?

When William Shakespeare wrote that old age was a phase of ‘second childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything’, he could not have imagined a time when a multitude of facilities would be available for the elderly to age gracefully.

Today, the elderly can continue to enjoy a vibrant life through proper diet, exercise, massages, skin-firming treatments, socialization and meditation.

Meditation has especially been advocated for the physical and spiritual wellness of elderly people. It is mentioned in ancient Hindu and Buddhist practices and traditions, and is particularly fruitful in order to age gracefully.

Meditation addresses important issues of impermanence and death. It helps one realize that all the objects of attachment, anger, and ignorance are transitory – they are mere phenomena – that will cease to exist at the time of death.

Meditation as a therapy has been incorporated into treatment and caregiving approaches, particularly in hospices and palliative care settings, where elders face daily experiences of loss and change within their lives.

Practitioners of meditation know that the whole process of solitary reflection, focus and chanting can help non-judgmental acknowledgement of thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears. Thus, the meditative process provides a context where anxieties about physical and mental functioning are faced with compassion, and are analyzed, understood, and accepted.

Meditation helps the elderly tide through the last stage of life with feelings of achievement and self-worth, and without regrets.