Tuesday 22 October 2013

Chat With An Octogenarian & Change Your Life.

Preferably an Octogenarian from the countryside.

Of course the term octogenarian is just a fancy word for a person between the ages of 80 to 90, but I thought it sounded swell. When you are in that elite age group, it is only right that you get a fancy sounding name.

Let's get down to basics. Don't you at times get upset or terribly stressed because:

  • They have run out of your brand of milk / bread / chocolate at the supermarket...
  • Your car is not the latest model...
  • You think you have been dealt a heavy hand from fate because you can't go on holiday this year...
  • You haven't got the latest iPhone...

Granted, some of these points are slightly exaggerated yet aren't they usually the cause of our dissatisfaction or stress? In comparison to the life experience of an octogenarian they pale in stature. The elite group of over 80's are the ones who:

  • Have had times in their life, where food ( any food ) on the plate was not a given.
  • Had to grow their food. We can nip to the supermarket, they had to dig up potatoes, milk a cow and make their own ham.
  • Had to get up before dawn and go out onto the fields to plant, tend or harvest it. Please don't think it was a cushy job. They didn't all have fancy tractors or legions of help. No, if they were lucky they owned a horse and could string a plow behind it.
  • Coming home late and the work wasn't over. Washing clothes was done by hand and outside. Oh yes, we have a hernia when the water is switched off for an hour or two, but back then, there was no water on tap. A well outside was it!

Of course, these are just the tip of the iceberg in life experiences of an octogenarian.

When you go and chat to an older person, it tends to shift your inner compass into its right setting. We all have so much to be thankful for. Yes, all of us. Yet, often we are disappointed with life over trivial things.

The next time you feel stressed over some modern day problem, just think to yourself:
' What would an octogenarian do / think / feel ? '

Biggi

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