Never Stop Learning

I called and spoke with my Grandma yesterday, and there was something that she said that made me smile: she still reads the paper every day.  She says it takes her longer to read it these days, but she keeps at it as best she's able.  She's in her nineties, lives with her husband in their own home, and I can only hope to be half as resilient in my old age as she has been.  I wonder sometimes if she ever actually thinks of herself as old, and I know she's said she is often enough.  But I don't know that she really sees herself that way.  My guess is that part of living a long life is believing you will, and then never surrendering to the idea that you can't do something.  If I ever make it to ninety, I'll do my best to let you know how it happened, though.

Still, more and more research is pointing to the idea that we need to continue to challenge our brains as we age in order to help maintain them.  We should play games and read.  We should learn new things and strive to retain our knowledge of things that are important to us.  But if my Grandma taught me anything on that call yesterday, it's simply the idea that we should never stop learning--about the world around us, about the views of others, and about ourselves.  Remaining committed to learning something new every day can sustain us in moments when everything else seems to be falling apart.

So read a paper (or an e-version of one.)  Sign up for a class.  Search out a topic that's always interested you on the internet.  Grow something new.  The seeds you plant will sustain you through the years.