Learning is essential to the health of our brains and to our total well being. Continued learning is both a mantra and an art form. We need to learn at least one new thing every day. We then need to give away what we have learned!! That is, share what you know with others. Teach someone something that they may not have known and you will be teaching yourself in return; more than you have learned and more than you will ever realize.

Our prefrontal cortex in the brain needs to be stimulated daily. It is the learning center. Whether it is through sound, through vision or by touch, we need to give it something to “munch on,” to digest and process and then that piece of information is moved along to the Hippocampus of the brain where we store it in our memories for future use.

Our brains are like nascent children, a sponge if you will, that will soak up everything we spill in front of it whether we do it on purpose or it just happens by serendipitous experience. The brain absorbs everything…..so teach it something. How about a new language? How about a new skill? What about a new adventure? Each new piece of information makes our brains work, keeps our neurons (brain cells) young and alive; leaving us with improved memory, increased ability to solve problems and a high degree of proficiency in being regenerative should a cell die prematurely or otherwise.

Passing judgment on someone else at any age is akin to bullying. There is much in our news these days about bullying which we might see in the schools among younger people. But looking at this “fad” as a form of judgment and discrimination, it can happen at any age…. And does!

Bullying can be found in people who “envy” others; however, this is not always the rule. An inferior person may discriminate against another in order to feel more important in his or her own eyes. Bullying can be found in schools at all levels, including teachers bullying students and each other. It can be found in jobs where managers may try to suppress those bright individuals that have tapped into the insecurity of the manger and caused him or her to be threatened in some way.

In cloistered living situations, be it assisted living, or senior housing of one sort or another, bullying can be found amongst the residents who don’t feel important but because they have been judgmental all their lives, tend to take out their inequities on other’s in the form of ‘put downs,’ being off-putting, showing a superior attitude, causing harm through verbal abuse and just plain being mean to another person. Discrimination in elders in any form is what we call Elder Abuse and it is an act that can be punishable by the law in many cases.

“Discrimination due to age is one of the great tragedies of modern life. The desire to work and be useful is what makes life worth living, and to be told your efforts are not needed because you are the wrong age is a crime.”

This quote by Johnny Ball exemplifies a specific thought about working and ageism. We as a society must recognize our short-comings and work towards equality in thought, in practice and opportunity. We must educate everyone on discrimination, passing judgment and offending each other knowingly and unknowingly.  The Bible has stated, “Do unto other’s as you would have them do unto you.” Let’s try and be more prudent about being human, considerate, sensitive to another person’s needs and more caring. It will make us all better people and bring us a more peaceful world.

Being alone is sometimes a good thing, but at the same time it remains a double-edged sword. We all need our alone time, whether it is on top of a mountain, fishing, gardening, reading a good book or seeing a movie. The difficulty comes when one does not go out at all or see other people socially. Being cloistered in one’s own home or apartment and never going out can have detrimental psychological effects on the psyche and mind.

People tend to get depressed a lot quicker by choosing to be alone all the time and not seeing other human beings. I remember reading about a native tribe in the South Pacific who ostracized one of their tribesmen when that person made an infraction against the law of the land within the village. The person was told to leave the tribe and never, NEVER talk to anyone within the tribe again or have any kind of contact with them. Eventually, this person died.

It goes without saying that the human touch is a basic need. It is our most intimate form of communication and a basic desire for all humans. We all need to be wanted and feel needed.

Touch allows one to express their feelings and to receive the feelings of others. Our words are an extension of our thoughts and feelings and show others our actions towards them in a verbal way including the expression of our values and habits. Without human words and touch, people’s self-esteem is lowered and they eventually get depressed and will die of loneliness. Men are especially more vulnerable and have a higher percentage of suicide than older women due to the inability of men to form longer lasting social relationships in later life. Women are basically more gregarious and I think live longer because of this fact. Be social and live a longer and happier life!