Ageing

I never know whether to spell the title ageing or aging? I suspect both are correct. So I’ll use the one I prefer with the ‘e’.

I started writing this blog many years ago, perhaps 13. I forget and am too lazy to research the exact date. At any rate, the purpose of this blog is to provide a place where an ageing person could offer comments of perspective on a host of topics. Most of those topics would be current in the news or public discussion. All would be logical – of course! – but also with a tinge of what life experiences mean to an ageing person.

Please, do not read this as an old man’s blog about yesterday. Nothing could be further from my truth. No, I need a platform on which I can offer opinions on topics that are capturing my attention at any given time. This platform provides me an outlet for all kinds of pressures. It also helps me focus on other issues without the distraction of current events.

You have images of old grumpy men. I just know you do! Well, the grumpiness stems from thinking about all these things at the same time without benefit of distance and concentrated focus. I don’t like being grumpy, so this blog is my way of managing that.

So, back to the topic: ageing.

It is quite difficult to know about ageism while living through the period of time. I am 80 and will be 81 in June. That is not old in terms of my family. Mom lived past 104. Dad went early at 88 due to some unfortunate falls. The rest of the Safford line pretty much died in their mid 90’s with a few exceeding the 100 mark. Mom’s family mirrored that record. Most died near 100 with a few surpassing that mark.  It can be said that I come from a long-lived genetic pool.

That being said, I do not aspire to 100+. I think I would be bored and very tired of everything. I know my mother was. I prefer to aspire to the mid 90’s as long as I am able to stand, sit, walk and do for myself, however marginal that may become.

It is obvious that keeping the mind engaged in life helps prolong longevity. My mother was a fan of crossword puzzles and did several of them daily until her death. I do crosswords as well and am pretty good at it. More importantly, however, is staying engaged in daily work that requires mental effort and acuity. I not only write this blog but provide mentoring to small business clients. These folks are either starting a new small business or have one that is challenged by current problems. If so, I help them survive those challenges.

This work is affiliated with SCORE, a national, free service begun by the Small Business Administration in 1962. Today we have about 12,000 volunteer mentors working with more than 200,000 clients. Congress loves SCORE because we help individual entrepreneurs start new small businesses as an engine of economic growth for the nation. Generally, SCORE helps start about 140,000 businesses annually.

Most mentors are retired from either owning their own businesses or having been a denizen of the corporate suite of some corporation. In my case, I am retired from owning my own business and being a creative management type in a host of nonprofit organizations. My management specialty is/was strategic planning.

Today I continue to provide that service to many of my clients. I find it helps them focus greatly on what it is their business means, what it is attempting to achieve beyond financial success. What is the mission of the organization? What is its vision for the long-term. What will they be achieving 15 years or so in the future.

You can see how this is an intellectual effort for everyone involved. It is that fluid flow of logic and problem solving that excites the brain and keeps it fresh. For me that is more valuable than a crossword puzzle!

I’ll share some of the objectives of these clients as examples of their creative genius. They keep me on my toes every day. That is the fun of my present life. This is not physically tasking, just mentally.

Ageing is relative, I think. Growing old and less able to do for oneself depends greatly on what one does with the mind. I believe the secrets of longevity reside therein.

January 22, 2024