I want Freedom from old age!
We are living longer! But are we living better?
I turn seventy in September. Wow! I got here a lot faster than I would have ever imagined possible. My Grandchild did not make me feel old; it’s the knowledge that I am married to a grandmother did make me feel old!
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Hard to believe that back in the eighties we were the thirty something and felt we had the world by the tail. I am not really 70. I am Just 40 yrs with 30 years of experience! I always feel Younger Next Year and younger over the years to come!
Three passions have governed my life: The longings for love, the search for knowledge, and compassion for the suffering of mankind. I have wanted to understand the Hearts of people. I took up cardiac sciences for a career. I have sought knowledge with passion. I had the fortune of being the VC of Bangalore University. But always compassion has brought me back to earth; Cries of pain reverberates in my heart -Of hungry children, of victims tortured and of old people left helpless. May be it is too late to join politics.
Most vice-chancellors I thought are born and bred in the academic system of the university. I was and I am — the product of a very different world, chaotic but committed, idealistic and sociable world of medicine, cardiology and cardiac surgery. Yes I am proud of my university –The Bangalore University and to be its Vice Chancellor. My mission was to make a positive difference in the career and lives of Bangalore University Students and the faculty. And I did!
The old paradigm has changed. We are capable of so much more now. Think about it. We have so much experience in life. My vision is to get people over the age 60- 70 reignited about life. Change your mindset and start thinking about what is new for you. My philosophy is–The Best is yet to be.
No one goes through life unscathed. Refuse to define your life by any single event. Storms produce strength and character. I hate hard times but in looking back over my life I can see that the hard times have been used by God to make me who I am today.
Aging is something that kind of sneaks up on you. One moment you are 30 and all of a sudden you’re sixty and seventy. How did that happen? Aging gracefully means accepting the changes in your outward appearance and focusing on others instead of yourself.
Today aging is like any other common medical issue — another matter to be overcome. Positive experience in aging is a real option. Good self-care, high morale, intimate friendship and mental health allow one to live fully irrespective of limitations imposed by aging.
Positive aging is not the avoidance of physical decay, and certainly is not about the avoidance of death. It is about making the most of the time you have, of the life you have. It is about finding freedom, no matter what your circumstances were and are! It is about the freedom to realize your true self.
There is no doubt aging comes with its challenges, emotional, physical, social and spiritual. It falls on us slowly but surely. If lived properly old age can be a time of happiness, and deep fulfillment.
Eat with heart and weight in mind,
Eat less and live longer! I believe in ELF-“Eat less food”. Fasting has transformative effect and a spiritually feel well effect. It’s beyond doubt that one who eats less- lives longer. Fasts are like vacations from the pursuit of pleasure.
I truly believe we are what we eat. When we eat raw fruits, vegetables and other wholesome foods on a daily basis we’ll have more energy, our skin begins to clear and reveals a natural glow, and it doesn’t matter what age we are! Try it for two weeks and see for yourself.
Don’t rush for anything, walk 10.000 steps a day- yes — you need motivation. Never succumb to sedentary life style, avoid morbid Obesity, and learn how to unplug the gadgets. Our best hopes of progress, however, remain deceptively familiar: understanding our true selves better.
Do I have any regrets? Yes a few! I wish I had been less of myself. I wish I had been a better friend .I wish I was a better human being.
We lose our health to make money and then lose money to restore the health. We live as if we never die and die as if we never lived. The want for more never ends.
Everyone dies, but almost no one really lives. Money can never be the ‘be all and end all of life’. So is everything else! Life is more important.
That the wealth is everything is fallacious and misconceived.
· When you are battling poverty, money is the ultimate wealth.
· When you are sick, immunity and health is the ultimate wealth.
· If you are lonely, love is the wealth you need.
Happy Independence Day! Enjoy your newly acquired freedom from aging!
Dr N prabhu dev
Former Director Jayadeva institute of cardiology- 10 years
Former VC Bangalore University- Four years
Former chairman Karnataka state health commission