Dealing With Old Age

SUN., JULY 7, 1996, 12:06 AM
FARM, STUDY

Right now you are having to deal with an aspect of old age – an ache or a pain that somehow keeps sleep from coming on. You thought of trying one of the downstairs chairs as a better aid to sleep, but, wisely decided to come and see what I have to say, this early on a Sunday morn.

Old age is a part of earth life with which many of you humans must deal… must experience. As Jesus that wasn’t part of My earth journey, so I obviously have no direct personal experience to draw from. (Now if it were crucifixion at a young age…!) I’d classify you now as “old age”. Oh, in some ways you still could qualify as one of the “young old”… you haven’t yet retired… and you still feel rather young, in comparison to some who are older… but you are close to the average age of death for a male in your culture.

In one way the deterioration of your hip-leg-foot functioning is bothersome. In another you have accepted this as your condition, the spiritual lesson from the first of these leg malfunctionings. You are not seeking medical consultation or services to try to restore your more youthful capacities, and of this I approve. As I have told you often, your spirit will enliven as the body loses function, and this is the best antidote to any deterioration.

In a couple of days you will have to deal with real old age… old, old. Your parents have not needed to seek life-prolonging medical procedures of any magnitude, and I am proud of them for not needing such. (You wonder what they would have done if some radical procedure had been recommended.) It shall be a challenge to you in relating with them, and I am aware, as you are, that this will be difficult for you. You realize how you reacted to Mabel, when she was here for those months, and you hope you can do better with your parents.

In one way they are among the privileged in this culture of yours, which values living a long, healthy life. In another way they are suffering from not being able to retain their independence, their interdependence upon each other. Sometimes they can see themselves as deserving of some special care, deserved because they have lived so long depending only upon one another. At other times they see themselves as a burden on Joanne and Howard, and this is not a pleasant perception.

You know you shall have to resist temptations to spend your time and energies in ways not beneficial to them. You shall have to both plan conversations and adapt quickly when plans don’t work out. If you can see this as a spiritual challenge it shall be much easier than you anticipate.

Personally, you have an advantage over many others of your age and beyond: you can really look forward to the transition from earth life to the continuing life of spirit. You have now publicly indicated your expected life span, with the condition that you would accept more life as a gift, if it really were to be desirable. You wonder how much longer you’ll be able to do what you enjoy doing and how much loss and deterioration you’ll be able to tolerate. You have, at least, some theoretical understanding of how your Dad is often feeling. Will your expressed feelings be of any value to him? You wonder.