Getting Older and Feeling Great Joy — Despite All Our Ills

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” – Frank Lloyd Wright While some people may think that the older you get, the worse your quality of life and well-being becomes. Yet, there are growing numbers of men and women who may now have some silver or gray strands of hair and other age-related signs who’ll tell you they’ve never felt happier. They greet each day with hope and enthusiasm, feeling confident, purposeful, grateful and filled with joy. This, despite an assortment of ailments, frailties, medical conditions and gradual slowing down. How can it be? Does this older generation know something the millennials and younger age groups don’t? Is this a learned behavior or do they come by it naturally? Whatever the reason, and we’re not likely to be able to scientifically discern the true cause, it is reason for celebration. After all, life is finite and short, in comparison to age of the planet and other seemingly infinite things. It is, therefore, all the more precious for its brevity. Cancer can’t get these folks down. A University of Toronto study from researchers at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work finds that two-thirds of patients currently diagnosed with cancer and in excess of 75 percent of former cancer patients 50 and older are “mentally flourishing despite their illness.” What this means is the study participants are happy and satisfied with their life almost every day and say they have very high levels of psychological and...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Aging General Grief and Loss Happiness Health-related Mental Health and Wellness Self-Help aches and pains joy Loving Kindness Source Type: blogs