I have an ambivalent attitude toward old age. Why?
For me, old age is the past turned into the present. It often seems that the present overwhelms old age. While walking and doing street photography, I often see many old people who seem tired of life. Still, there are many examples of people in old age who are not overwhelmed by the current reality. The truth is that I also see such people quite often. They seem to be fit and healthy, both physically and mentally.
I do not know how they do it, but I want to become like one of them (who doesn’t want to?).
I believe that having an open mind is the key to doing it. That’s why I do intermittent fasting and take cold showers. Without possessing an open mind, I would never do these things. If someone would tell me two years ago (I wrote this text on the 31st of August, 2022) that I should stop eating to feel better, I would laugh him straight in the face.
Moreover, I was afraid of the cold for most of my life.
Like most people, I tried to avoid feeling cold as much as possible. When someone would tell me that I could feel better by exposing my body to frigid temperatures and taking freezing showers, again, I would laugh in the face. Still, it appears that all these things helped me feel better and have better health. I believe these things will help me become vital in my old age. I know I can lose my health within fractions of seconds (e.g., in a car crash), and the rest of my life, including senility, will be doomed. Still, it does not mean that I should wait for a tragedy in my life while lying on the couch and eating chips. By doing it, my old age, without a shadow of a doubt, will be sad.
