Old Age: I Want Young-hearted People By My Side

To grow old with dignity, we can never forget one of the best medicines: surrounding ourselves with young-hearted people. Let’s think about this.

Keeping a young heart is synonymous with well-being and health. One way to keep this organ in great condition is to surround yourself with significant people.

Growing old is never a pleasant thing. First of all, far from what the optimism school and the enthusiasts of the most enthusiastic positive stand for, getting old takes away a certain quality of life.

Knee pain appears and wear and tear on the hips limits our plans. We also cannot forget the effect of the “empty nest”, that moment when the children leave and the house remains quieter than ever.

At this time when we have gray hair, wrinkles, and health concerns, something more complex emerges: the loss of the spouse.

We can age with dignity, be strong and optimistic, but the years leave their mark. To do this, you have to surround yourself with people with young hearts. We are talking, of course, about good friends. These friends who have been with us for many years are key to our health.

People with young hearts, our allies in advanced maturity

The “third period of youth” can be experienced in many different ways. Many people see retirement as an opportunity to make the most of life.

But, while some begin outings, afternoons of dancing and social gatherings, others feel the emptiness of loneliness. If we add to this the health problems, the emotional state drops more and more.

According to a study conducted by the University of Rochester (United States), the number of social interactions an elderly person has and the quality of these have a direct impact on their health and their life expectancy. Just like we said: being old and having good friends is a guarantee of well-being.

Friendship in the Third Age

Friendship in old age is the best anti-inflammatory for arthritis. In addition, a friend is the best vitamin for drawing smiles on the faces loaded with the wrinkles of time. It is a privilege to have young-hearted people near us and we must invest in it very early on.

However, there are several aspects that we must take into account. During youth, love and friendship come very easily. They appear like those intense and refreshing storms in summer, which we enjoy with our five senses. And just as they come suddenly, they leave just as dry.

However, everything changes when the calm of autumn arrives and with it, the first maturity. This is when we know exactly what we want in our life. There comes a time when we realize that we have by our side noble people, genuine and rich in empathy, respect and reciprocity.

Maturing and adding years to our personal journey involves many inner journeys, of being lost and of being found. It is clear that it is an intimate journey where everyone lives at their own pace and in their own way.

However, it is at this time that we realize that to invest in the present is to invest in our destiny. If life is two days, it is necessary to save and listen to what is really precious: love and friendship.

The secret of authentic quality of life

Bronnie Ware is an Australian palliative care nurse who published a bestselling book called “ The 5 Regrets” in 2011 .

In this book, she reports the five things her patients wished they had done:

• not to have done what the heart dictated to them at all times;
• not having truly expressed what they were feeling at every moment of their life;
• having worked too much, without prioritizing the simplest things;
• for not having taken better care of their friends, of these young-hearted people;
• for not having been happier with the people they loved.

How to identify people with a young heart?

For people with a young heart, it doesn’t matter how many years they carry on their backs. The main thing is morale and attitude. To arrive at this advanced maturity of our lives in the company of people who always bring us optimism and vitality is, without a doubt, the best of privileges.

Moreover, we also cannot forget that these profiles give us support first and foremost. They are a great help when the situation is complicated.

People with young hearts always want us to get out of our homes. They don’t want to see us alone, bogged down in the daily grind. For them, it is essential to go out in the open air, to laugh, to listen to music… to feel alive.

Keep in mind that wrinkles are found on the skin and not on the heart. So, we have no reason not to enjoy life, no matter how old we are!