I am a reader and I love books. Mainly non-fiction.
My passion for reading came when I went to Bible College at the age of 23. Every now and then I come across a book that blows me away.
I start talking about that book with other people, so that should someone be interested they can also download that book and benefit from it.
So the mind-blowing book I read this week is titled ‘After 60, The secrets to achieving happiness, health and fulfillment in later life’.
The authors are wife and husband, Audrey Ralph and Gordon Ralph. Audrey C. Ralph is 90-years-old and the book was written in 2020. Audrey was a nurse and spent most of her life caring for older patients in various institutions and homes.
She has a first-hand experience of what retirees go through before they end up in a nursing home. The book tackles a very interesting subject: life after 60.
The authors say many employees today, mainly those who dislike their jobs, think that once they retire they will be free from stress, pressure and demands of a 40-hour work week.
According to the authors many retirees adjust well to their retirement, in that they plan it well.
However, many do not know how to survive once the initial excitement of retirement passes.
Some people very much identify themselves by what they do. After retirement they struggle with their self-worth and self- esteem. Many get bored, lonely, depressed, anxious.
In order to overcome their negative emotions many cope by hitting the bottle or some other destructive behaviour like sitting in front of TV all day and ruining their health.
According to this book, it doesn’t have to be that way. A retiree or anyone who is interested in wanting to be happy, healthy and fulfilled can do just that.
In other words you can choose. How you ask? The answer is in knowing how the mind, body and spirit works. And they are interrelated.
Spirit is not used in a religious sense as the Holy Spirit. It is referred to our emotions. Positive emotions are like: happy, love, joy, peace, generous, gratitude and excitement -good feelings. As opposed to negative emotions such as sadness, anger, loneliness, jealousy, self-criticism, fear and rejection -bad feelings.
How could one have positive emotions more and less of negative emotions is all in how we think. That’s where the mind comes in. The authors say positive thinking produces positive emotions.
Emotions, whether good or bad, affect our physical body. Our physical body can take only so much stress whether from work, people or environment. So how does one achieve in thinking positive, resulting in positive emotions resulting in healthy body. What does one have to think or do? In short what does it look like?
Positive emotions (spirit) is achieved by: being thankful for what you have, surround yourself with family, have close friends, but choose them wisely, be happy for others’ good fortune, look at the beauty of nature around you, do something for someone else, do the things you enjoy doing, find some way to release your frustration.
Positive thinking (mind) is achieved by: Keep informed, keep up your physical appearance, live your life regardless of your age, live in the present, push yourself to participate, do it now, keep your mind fit, keep in touch with time, continue to learn.
Healthy body: See a podiatrist, see a doctor at least once a year, get your blood work done once a year, have a doctor look at sores that are not healing, have your ears and your eyes checked, maintain good dental health, keep active physically, do things in moderation.
Bibliography: ‘After 60, The secrets to achieving happiness, healthy and fulfilment in later life’ by Audrey Ralph and Gordan Ralph (Downloadable from Amazon).
