The Difference Between I Am and I Do

There are a couple of ways to think about Aging Intelligently. The first way, and the way most people think about it, is to think about aging intelligently as something you do. As in; you exercise, watch your diet, get enough sleep, engage your brain in ongoing learning, and meditate, however that translates for you. These are things you do to increase your longevity and well-being. This is you, doing things. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

I don’t think of myself that way. I don’t “do” things to increase my odds of beating dementia and nursing homes. Or, Well-Care Centers, which means,  I can walk myself to the dining room, and go to the bathroom by myself. No thank you.

Instead, I “am” aging intelligently. It is who I am. It’s my lifestyle. I don’t think about exercise, diet, sleep, meditation. I just do it. It’s habit. It explains me. It also explained Jack LaLane, who wrote his 11th book at age 95, and died a year later; Kathryn Hepburn, who lived vibrantly and mentally sharp until age 96; George Burns, who smoked cigars and was still making jokes until he died at age 100.

Having to “do” just one more thing with an overburdened life is too much. I don’t need to check my email first thing in the morning, or respond immediately to drama driven phone calls. And aren’t most of them? I can take a breath, think about it, address issues when I am ready, not on another person’s timetable. For the drama driven, everything is an emergency. It’s all urgent.

But it isn’t. It’s a habit, and we either control habits, or they control us. I make a choice every day in honoring who I perceive myself to be, and then I act like that person. This is not someone else’s view of me; this is who I believe I am. I am someone who ages intelligently. No drama, and nothing to “do.”

Just for fun, and because I can, I’m going out to do some cartwheels.

That’s Aging Intelligently.