Life after 70
I am turning 79 in a few months. If you are younger than me, you probably worry about how you should live. If you are older than me, you probably giggle a little and think, “Been there, done that. It’s not as bad as anyone thinks.”
That is so true. Lately, I received something on my cell phone that I thought I really should reprint. It was sent to me by Nida, a friend of mine, a painter, whose age is almost exactly like mine. I love it because it puts into words almost exactly how I have chosen to live. Here it is, almost verbally:
“Dr. Wada in Japan advocates calling people over 70 years old ‘fortunate people’ rather than ‘elderly people.’ He summed up the secret of 70-year-olds becoming ‘lucky ones’ into 42 sentences. (Actually in the typing I realized it was not 42 but 30. Must be a minor counting error common after you’re 70.)
varies from person to person. Lifestylememory/Freepik
Seniors over the age of 70 do not need regular physical examinations because the "standard of health" varies from person to person. He also said: "Don’t believe what doctors say. This is because doctors are in contact with patients, so they do not understand what health is." At the same time, Dr. Wada also opposes the long-term use of multiple drugs by the elderly and advocates "only take necessary drugs when necessary." In other words, taking medicine to prevent something makes little sense.
According to this point of view, the elderly do not need to take sleeping pills frequently. Loss of sleep time as you age is a natural phenomenon, and no one dies from insomnia. Twenty-four hours a day, sleep whenever you want, wake up whenever you want: This is the privilege of the elderly.
In addition, the cholesterol level that the elderly are generally worried about, even if it is high to a certain extent: There is no need to worry because cholesterol is the raw material for the body to generate immune cells. The more immune cells, the lower the risk of cancer in older people. In addition, part of the male hormone is also composed of cholesterol. If the cholesterol level is too low, men’s physical and mental health will be unsustainable.
We have our own lives. Just live life with lots of laughter and love.
“Likewise, high blood pressure doesn’t matter at all. More than 50 years ago, human malnutrition was widespread. So when blood pressure reaches around 150, the blood vessels burst. But very few people are malnourished these days so even blood pressure over 200 won’t cause a blood vessel to burst.”
Dr. Wada summed up the secret of 70-year-olds becoming “fortunate people” in 30 sentences as follows:
1. Keep walking.
2. Take a deep breath when you feel irritable.
3. Exercise so that the body does not feel stiff.
4. Drink more water when the air conditioner is on.
5. The more you chew, the more energetic your body and brain will be.
6. Memory declines not because of age but because of long-term non-use of the brain.
7. No need to take a lot of medicine.
8. No need to deliberately lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
9. Only do what you love, not what you hate.
10. No matter what, don’t stay at home all the time.
11. Eat whatever you want; the fat body is just right.
12. Do everything meticulously.
13. Don’t deal with people you hate.
14. Rather than fighting the disease to the end, it is better to live with it.
15. “The car must have a way to the front of the mountain” is the magic spell to make the old person happy.
16. You can’t fall asleep? Don’t force it.
17. Doing happy things is best for boosting brain activity.
18. Find a “family doctor” early.
19. Don’t be overly patient or force yourself; there is nothing wrong with being a “bad old person.”
20. Stop learning and you will grow old.
21. Don’t be greedy for vanity. It’s good to have everything you have now.
22. Innocence is the privilege of the elderly.
23. The more troublesome things are, the more interesting they are.
24. Do what is good for others.
25. Live leisurely today.
26. Desire is the source of longevity.
27. Live as an optimist.
28. Cheerful people will be popular.
29. The rules of life are in your own hands.
30. Accept everything calmly.
Those are Dr. Wada’s 30 very doable rules, except he kept calling us “elderly.” All we have to do is listen to ourselves and do what we want. We don’t have to listen to our parents anymore. They are usually gone when we hit 70. We have our own lives. Just live life with lots of laughter and love. You might want to consider this joke: “At my burial, take the bouquet from my coffin and toss it to the crowd. Whoever catches it might be the one you will bury after me.”