Are you old if you are sixty? Not at all. Old age is forever a decade away in the future for those who know the great art of living. The first secret is to replace “Those were the days” with “What’s new” in every conversation. There is a lot more to the wonderful world of staying energized and it begins with jumping headlong into the mesmerizing pool of new skills.
Last week I was at a get-together with some of my course-mates from my days as a Gentleman Cadet at the Indian Military Academy and one of them asked, “What is the best way of spending time after retirement?”
One friend said, “Share your experiences. Author books.” He paused and then added, “Well, short anecdotes work just as well. Blog about them.”
Another added, “You are right. But I share my experiences by conducting workshops. I train students in the art of leadership and man-management.”
The conversation was getting intense. A third friend said, “That is easy. Play golf in the morning. Learn an unfamiliar dance form in the evening.”
We laughed at that but agreed that adopting a new skill is what works like magic. Skilling attracts the magic of youthfulness like nothing else can. A new skill is not an illusion but remains firmly grounded in the spirit of joys that were always at the back of one’s mind all these past years.
Another friend who headed the legal cell of a bank once admitted that he wanted to talk about anything but finances and legalities. He and his wife formed a group of like-minded couples and decided to see a small part of the world every year. He told me that each of them had finally discovered a new love… one fell in love with the art of photography while another decided to write rhyming tweets every day. A third began exploring the depths of YouTube and yet another collected recipes and tips from the restaurants they visited. Imagine their surprise when during the months they were not travelling, they were spicing their conversations with a new energy!
In all the instances I have talked about, people were creating new memories. All that they had done was to have stopped clinging stubbornly to old influences and reimagined moments with the newness of the enticing anticipation of the unknown. This is something like a non-swimmer jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool knowing that other friends were there to rescue him or her if anything went wrong. The jump, however, is a classic icebreaker to a new life.
Old memories are wonderful but clinging to old photographs, past triumphs, and lost causes is like Abhimanyu trapped in a ‘chakravyuh’ with the exit not known. It is better to discover new battlefields where you can once again aspire to be a General! It is so much more fun to dive into new worlds and create new memories for the future. A chef I knew told me that often the usual chutney creates new memories for the taste buds if the ingredient mix has a different configuration. Therefore, shuffle the ingredients now when you have the opportunity.
Change is positive. Even the Government of India recognizes this and encourages the need to allow enthusiasm to transcend age. The NEP 2020 has made it possible for universities to do away with age-limits and we read about two generations of the same family studying in the same medical college or pursuing an engineering degree in their chosen specialization. Possibilities that never existed earlier are a reality now. This is why age is no barrier at all.
Talking of possibilities, let me add here that during our visit to our son Pushkin, who is in London, we noticed a man around my age running along the Thames with his daughter. As he came near, we waved. He acknowledged our wave, and we got talking. Stephen was in his seventies and one of the things he said was that the language of possibilities has the alphabet of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world and ranks higher than money, power, or even influence. Enthusiasm, according to Henry Chester, is “faith in action.” Age must never be the reason to dampen one’s enthusiasm to embrace change. An excellent example of this ability to latch on to new skills is Kulpreet Yadav, a friend from the Coast Guards and a fellow writer. He has hopped from being in uniform to writing thrillers to making short films for the OTT platforms to acting to authoring books about little known battles. If this does not define enthusiasm, then what will?
Therefore, I will ask again: Are you old if you are sixty? Your answer should be: Not at all!
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Arvind Passey
18 February 2025
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