THE THIRD AGE
Temper youth’s optimism with wisdom of maturity

I am hearing a lot these days about the growing lack of optimism in the future and what it might hold for those who are moving through midlife and into their later years.

This is unusual for Americans. A feeling of optimism is almost a hallmark of our culture. I know I frequently find when I am in other countries and the people there speak of our people that they marvel at how it is that we can’t really see how bad things are and how they probably will get worse. Much of the rest of the world finds Americans ridiculously optimistic about the future. They don’t think we have a true sense of reality and so ignore what is happening around us, an attitude they find very childish.

No matter where we live, pessimism and cynicism don’t serve us very well as we move into our later years. Hope and the feeling that we will always find a way to solve our problems and move forward is a very necessary ingredient in good health. If we truly wish to make our later years productive and as healthy as we can make them, optimism about our future is essential. It is this quality, which appears to be inherent in our nature, that allow us to seek new ways to solve problems and keep moving along, even through setbacks and misfortune.

A healthy adaptation to growing older also requires that we develop realism to go along with our optimism. To stick our heads in the sand and maintain that things will always be the same is not looking clearly at what is surely down the road. We are now looking at a period in history that is truly challenging. In terms of the global changes related to climate, water, food, material goods and supplies and a unnerving increase in the population of the world, many would say there are few reasons to look forward with confidence.

Others point to us as the best-fed and most prosperous nation on the Earth at the moment and, in a very real sense, the leaders of the world. To pick up that challenge and make a difference, we need to see the current situation of the world in terms of an opportunity to learn about the world and its peoples and to develop and construct new materials and information.

The older mind is very well-suited to this task because of the storehouse of experience and knowledge it contains. If we, as a country, can learn to use this resource to help our nation and the world move forward with confidence and a clear and realistic understanding of the real problems we all face, we can make a contribution to the future that is necessary to our existence.

Optimism that also is informed by experience is a truly mature and grownup state of mind. We love our young ones and take great pride in their enthusiasm and strong desire to help others and change the world. But we need to remember that it is the older minds with their ability to synthesize information and unite fields of knowledge, which need to be used, along with the energy and strength of the young, to move us all toward a clear picture of reality.

We are beginning to understand that neither optimism nor pessimism is present in our genetic pool. These are learned traits, and they can be changed because we don’t come programmed to land in either box. It is experience that places us there. Some people are sure that everything will turn out for the best, regardless of what they see around them, while some have taken the experiences of their lives and moved to the dark side. In both our private and public lives, it is when we bring a true sense of reality to bear on our view of the world and what we have learned that we can begin to find a way to solve our problems. This attitude helps us to maintain our equilibrium and move into old age with confidence and hope.

These positive attitudes will benefit both ourselves and those around us, and they will help us to have better personal health, both physical and mental, as well as a clear understanding of our families and friends. The wise men and women of any culture are the elders. Let’s all strive to be elders worthy of the name.

Author’s note: Several people have either written or called to ask me to recommend a book about aging that will help with the experience. I hesitate to name a single book because most of my information and views come from a compilation of research and philosophy, attributable to many authors and covering many aspects of aging. I will tell you that according to my information, probably the most popular book on growing older is "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind" by Deepak Chopra. It has been read in many countries, contains much wisdom and will open many doors.

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Columbian Ann Gowans has a doctorate in social gerontology and medical sociology. She has worked and taught in the field for 25 years. You may reach her via e-mail at editor@tribmail.com.

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