The benefits of getting older

Por: Dr. Roch, El 30 marzo, 2023

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, or my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.

As I matured, I became kinder and less critical of myself.

I became my own fan.

I don’t feel guilty about eating too many cookies, making the bed when I want to, or buying something silly that I don’t need, especially if it’s a gift for my partner or family.

I have the right to be chaotic or extravagant. To travel to all the countries I never imagined.

I have seen several friends and loved ones leave this world too soon before they realized the incredible freedom that comes with age after 50-some call it old age.

Who will blame me if I read or play with my cell phone or computer until four in the morning and then sleep until noon? Or if I have traveled to South Asia, Europe, Australia, Japan, Dubai, Canada, or the United States?

Who cares if I stay in bed or talk all night or as long as I want?

I will dance to the sound of the great hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s, and if I feel like crying for one of my two lost loves, I will cry.

If I want to, I will walk the beach in those shorts that are too loose for my body and dive into the waves with abandon, despite the judgmental or critical looks of younger, more dynamic others. They too will grow old.

I know that sometimes I have memory lapses. My children get mad at me because I call them by the name of another of their siblings, but I think that when it comes to some things in life, it is best to forget.

I remember what is important.

Over the years, my heart has been broken and shattered twice.

But God works with broken and mended hearts; broken hearts bring us strength, understanding, and compassion.

A heart that has never suffered is immaculate and barren and will never know the joy of imperfection.

I am fortunate to have lived long enough to have what’s left of my hair gray and the youthful laugh forever etched in the deep furrows of my face.

Many never laughed, and many died before they had a gray hair.

As you get older, it becomes easier to be happy and independent. It is less important what others think.

I no longer question myself.

I have given myself the right to be wrong and to correct it with patience.

In conclusion: I like being alive and being my age, even if I am old to some people. I like being the person I have become. I feel fulfilled and content. I consider myself very loved, educated, happy, a millionaire, valuable, blessed, creative, and a creator of my absolute reality.

I know I will not live forever, but while I am here, I will not waste my time. I will not spend my life just surviving, mediocrely conforming, fattening and neglecting my existence, regretting what could have been and wasn’t, and even less worrying about what will be because I may not see it.

And I will have dessert at every meal when I feel like it. I will take care of my health and the love of my partner, which I hope will last from today until we end up in the cemetery. I will go to San Francisco with my partner Olga, to Houston to spend time with the families of my two oldest children and my granddaughter, and to Mexico City with my daughter Mariana and Leon with my youngest daughter Isabel.

Get it?

May our relationship never be separated because it is in the heart!

And when you are going through a difficult time, remember this:

When you throw the towel on the floor, God picks it up, puts it back in your hands, and says, “Remember, this battle belongs to both of us. Trust in life, in raw reality, in a living God.

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Thank you for reading.
– Dr. Roch