Pinoy WatchDog |Senior Pass: Your Ticket to Ride

Text and Photo:  Vics Magsaysay, Ph.D.

(Vics Magsaysay, Ph.D., is a fine art nature photographer, artist, alternative healer and holds a doctorate degree in clinical hypnotherapy.  

Website:  yessy.com/vicsmagsaysay)

“All of my knowledge is learned by

standing on the shoulders of geniuses.”

                                    -Dr. Albert Schweitzer

IF you love to visit national parks and are 62 or more, National Park Service can issue you a Senior Pass for just ten bucks. This is certainly a small price to pay for a lifetime ticket to commune with and imbibe Mother Nature’s magnificence. Wow! That’s an awesome deal from Uncle Sam! Thank You! Recently it was called “Golden Age (how apropos for seniors) Passport.”

Yup, being a senior, despite the aches and pains, has its own reward. Actually, this “freebie,” is the least of the “passes” that the “young once” can have in the autumn of life. Hold your horses guys; you need to know more of the whole enchiladas.

In hindsight, being a senior offers so many more freebies, that is, if we have learned some of life’s lessons—well. `Sounds like a tall order?

At the age of 37, my body suffered so much pain from my love of foods that others fear to dunk in their mouths. I was sort of like Andrew Zimmern, you know, that Bizarre Foods guy. Lifestyle? Just short of livin’ la vida cuckoo. . Methinks I was a canary in a coal mine for the iPhone generation. Do you follow my drift? It knocked me off my rocker; and, in the end, the problem became the solution. With a radical shift in diet—from a poor one to something better—I was able to lessen the gnawing body discomforts significantly.

 Humans are an interesting species. Many of us, moi included, are incontrovertible masochists. At least penitents, during Easter, love flogging to wash away their “sins.” Isn’t it interesting that we love to suffer before getting around to taking corrective measures? Hats off to all you guys who learned so quickly. What’s good is that this attitude was not set in stone. Many decades of nagging pain and seething unease have given me some insights—dividends which I am able to enjoy now. These lessons learned—and still continuing—from the university of hard knocks have become my “passes” to a life of welcome peace.

Gunning for these passes is not a stroll in the park guys; lotsa time and patience are needed. Anyway, it’s worth every moment and effort spent in the end. Here are some of the passes that are available to us:

Flowing with the wind.  “We were young and strong, we were runnin’ against the wind,” say the lyrics of the song “Against the wind.” Bob Seger was young then—and had lots of testosterone to expend. It seems our energies were relentless during those years, weren’t they? Our machismo was like Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone, shooting high up in the sky ceaselessly. Yes, we didn’t care; we couldn’t care…and who damn well cared? As the years passed by, like wine, we mellowed. We could face the brunt of the wind, why not? But isn’t it more practical to just flow w ith the wind? “Against” means resistance. Salmons swim upstream and hurdle insurmountable odds just to spawn. But after spawning they are totally burnt out…and kaput.

The Game of Blame makes us lame.  You are driving along the highway and squash 7 critters crossing your path. Yike! Then you blame those squirrels. So much unwanted emotional turmoil shrouds anyone who always points a finger at someone, something or a situation. It keeps our minds glued to the past. Our wings are clipped. We’re stuck; we cannot move on. It’s like Peter Parker unable to free himself from his own spider’s web. Also, we don’t have to be Deepak Chopra to know that we only attract what we are. This isn’t New Age stuff.  It’s as old as the Himalayas. Situations, people are attracted to us because of our consciousness. It’s the law of attraction. If you don’t like what’s around you, then change your thinking. We’ve to see the forest for the trees. Learn from experience. What we perceive as “bad” has tons of jewels inherent in it. Break its hard shell open and, surely, you’ll have that eureka moment…or a cool, fresh coconut water to drink. It has dawned on me to exalt mea culpa, a good Latin word. It became my pass to understand the situation and learn from it. Instead of being a victim, I become a victor (Hey! Isn’t that my name? …And could be yours, too.) Being a victor uplifts your feeling while knowing you are a victim yanks you down. Life is all about choices. So, which one do you fancy?

This Moment is important.   “This magic moment…sweeter than wine, softer than a summer night…will last forever,” a song popularized by Jay and the Americans in the late sixties, is still in the minds of many baby boomers. This “Magic Moment” is not momentary—it lasts a lifetime. Past exists in our memory. Future is yet to come. Both of them are not in this moment. Looking at them this moment makes you cross-eyed. Besides, it’s only our mind’s construction. It helps to plan but, after that, enjoy this moment, savor it as if it’s the last day of your life. It’s the very reason why many people in the West find meditation or mindfulness so attractive and fascinating. Those nagging oscillating thoughts are kept at bay. One good technique is by focusing on your breath. Be mindful of each inhalation and exhalation. When life coach guru Tony Robbins was asked what was the best advice he could give, he said: “Just be here in this moment.” Yes, righty right, in the here and now.

The Journey is more important than the destination.   When we figure out a plan for our future, our main focus is the end result. Imagine driving a car at night thinking only of our destination and not the road we are driving at that moment. Gosh! That’s disturbingly worse than texting while driving. Oh heck, that’s pretty scary, especially driving on a long and winding mountain road. Can we expect even a scrap of enjoyment on a journey like this? Nada. Zilch. At least the little box we call “GPS” shoehorns our mind to be mindful of driving—this moment. Enjoying the moment unfettered by results gives us, of course, joy and freedom. When the results manifest or the destination is there, they are but icing on the cake with lots of walnuts on the side.

Mission keeps you on—joyfully.   Yes siree, that mission possible in life is a positive contagion. If we are doing something fulfilling and enjoyable, great! But if it benefits humanity or the world, that’s even greater. I have a friend whose life before was anti-life. When he found his true calling—helping poor souls who have no roofs over their heads gain their own new, clean houses—the life he had turned 361 degrees. I love to capture alluring nature photos. This gives me a high. Sharing images of flowers and mesmerizing fine art nature photographs even ratchets up my enjoyment. The same thing goes in sharing learning experiences—body, mind or spirit—to others. Gosh! I bet I have found my niche! Surely, there comes a point in time when what we yearn to be, ought to be, and have a right to be gravitates to us like gold dust in a miner’s pan.

Dance of Acceptance is gratifying.  Whatever happens to us, it is good to know that it is perfect for us. Nothing could be any better. ‘Sounds alien? If we think it is “bad” so much of it could be gleaned to make us all victors. Those negatives we have had turn out to be our greatest redeemers, don’t you think? Surely, the lessons learned will lead us to a better life. Let’s boogie our way to this positive idea that what we are experiencing now is always good for us. I am sure Mr. Anxiety will find us an unlikely client.

Simplicity, the right electricity and silver bullet.  This is the last pass but oh soooh important for me. We are now living in the worst economic times. Hello! These conditions exist to teach us a lesson. Mega rich Warren Buffett, despite his awesome billions, knows how to live life as simply as possible. Even in my photography and design, I find the simplest composition the best.  Less is more…yes, so much more.

Think of all the pains, hurts, regrets, fears, anxieties, anger and other tumultuous emotions that we’ve encountered. As that song “Against the Wind” says, “We   didn’t know then.” It was all worth it, if we learned. But these experiences are all past now. Learning from all of these life’s lessons is our ticket to ride to a life filled with songs, laughter, peace and well-being. Or, as the guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant belted out so well, “A Stairway to Heaven.”