“Are you back up to speed yet?”
It was a thoughtful question, really. After all, I had been down with pneumonia for a couple of months and had obviously been “dragging” around. I responded, somewhat jokingly, “Well, I’m back up to speed, I just think it’s going to be a different speed from now on.” Not knowing quite how to react to that, my 30-something-year-old friend chortled and moved quickly on to another conversation.
Later, a fellow 60-something-year-old asked nearly the same question, to which I quipped the same clever answer. His response: “You know, I think we need to listen to our bodies at our age and accept the challenge of slowing down.”
Seriously? Not me! After all, I’m one who encourages people in the second half of life to Re-Ignite — and doesn’t’ that imply energy, activity, movement, even prolific productivity?
I have contemplated these interchanges and have concluded that my contemporary friend spoke words of great wisdom. This truly is the time in life where the body may want to slow down, even break down and fall apart, but the mind and soul stand at high alert.
David Solie, an author and expert in the field of aging, states. “Our love of the biological model of aging has duped us into believing that ‘slowing down’ is synonymous with diminished capacity. It is one of the most misunderstood and destructive ideas we harbor about aging.” He further maintains that actually, “The brain’s physiology changes in ways that promote the person’s need for reflection, insight and innovation.”*
Reflecting, reviewing life’s events and encounters, drawing upon life’s experiences, discovering who we are, not just what we DO – those are important tasks for those of us in life’s second half. We are entering a time of transition, from the busy and intense years of midlife, to whatever lies ahead in our elder years. This takes time. And it may mean changing speed.
Re-Ignite. It’s not just about finding new directions. It’s about slowing down enough to make sense of life. And then going forward with renewed purpose and passion.
So, yes! Thank you. I am up to speed!
–By Leona Bergstrom
