Skip to main content

Ninety Each And The Nexus Of Juice


(Iris Apfel: portrait from Pinterest)

Nonagenarian is the word of today's random selection (from the Latin nonageni - ninety each.) Spoken aloud (say nonna-j'n-airian) it has a lively, almost flirtatious feel. Which is how one would wish to be, in one's tenth decade of living.
My How To Be Old Wish List includes:
I will wear mostly sequined dresses and Wellington boots
I will sunbathe nude in a fragrant garden
I will swim in wild water
I will walk and meditate and, after some kindly thought to the matter, tell the blunt truth always.
More people are living longer and staying lively, it seems; this study is fairly typical: Lively Nineties Trend: reassuring for those of us who relish the idea of being old and delightfully sparky, of concentrating eccentricities and allowing Buddha-nature full bloom.
But: uh oh: there's a but!
'While the study suggests people are living better after 90, they have to make it to their 10th decade first, Christensen said. Younger elderly people have more illnesses such as obesity and diabetes, he said.'
Poor diet, lack of exercise, a lack of social connection, a feeling of not being in control of one's self or life, the inability to choose happiness: these are the impediments to pleasant ageing. None of them make for a lively time at any age, actually. Let us not take life for granted. We can't know if we will be given ninety each: we can only press what we have for every drop of juice.

[NB: Nexus noun: connecting principle or link]


http://quote-book.tumblr.com/post/5132380053


Comments

Heather Robinson said…
Gosh is this fabulous in every which way.

I have already decided that if I make it to being elderly, I am going to allow myself to be as eccentric as possible. So far, I am imagining a mix of Japanese designers and rock n'roll with a blunt white bob and combat boots.

I love your list. :)
16 April 2014 at 14:42
Suze said…
'Pleasure disappoints, possibility never.'

My dad has always said hunger is better than to be filled. I think there's room for both. :)
16 April 2014 at 16:49
Lisa Southard said…
Heather, you are a supercool nonagenarian in the making. We can hang out! :-)
Suze: I thought of you when the last line did that 'writing itself' thing: must have been your juice adventures that inspired those words! I don't think one need deny pleasure either- especially if one is properly attuned to the worth of experiences :-)
16 April 2014 at 22:43
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contact Pants Conundrum

There is weather today, I do note it: take a few moments to reckon the size of a cloud (big) and the frequency of rain (sporadic.) Centre of my interest though is a stack of magazines. Not the fashion kind. This is martial arts research. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for, but intuition calls loud. A range of old adverts skew some amusement. Contact pants, for example. Pants are not trousers where I come from. They are underwear. Professional contact pants: improved smirk value. But why would a person be likely to purchase a grappling hook and a lock pick set? For specialists and hobbyists only, the blurb assures. Guidance on the pheromone spray that attracts women against their better judgement? I doubt it works any more proficiently than the mysterious potion that defines your muscles while you sleep. But, then: I wonder is some sprayed on this paper? What was my intuition thinking, making this ghastly shout… Tea break time. There's a lot of words...
2 comments
Read more

Back From The Future Blog Party

Another joint blog adventure- if you want to see who else said what the list of participants is here . The premise is this: 'You're up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven't brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you ... from you. You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox -- sent from ten years in the future -- and it's filled with items you have sent yourself. What's in it?' Here's how I imagined it: Before dawn? Shadows outside, first forming. Sleep has gone, I don't know where. Coffee I can find. All the way from Machu Pichu, this fair-traded pack. Scissors are in the drawer, which ...
26 comments
Read more

In Spring Our Thoughts Turn To Loss

I'm not sure this poem is quite right, but out it goes. I keep writing and forgetting to post any of it- today I remember a very beautiful ghost, a YOLO blend of care free and care full. She would be- she is- rolling her eyes, pretending not to love the attention. Fare thee well dear one, wherever you wander you are settled in our hearts xxx
Post a Comment
Read more