Bhandaru Srinivasa Rao
Take a stroll through a village or wander into a forest, and you will find countless trees standing tall—many of them over a hundred years old. Yet among human beings, those who cross the century mark are exceptionally rare, perhaps one or two in a million.
That itself tells us something profound.
Though we often say a human lifespan is a hundred years, most of us are fortunate if we reach eighty or ninety. Which is why turning sixty should not be seen as an ending, but as the ringing of the first bell.
Fifteen or twenty years later, the second bell may sound. There is little wisdom in waiting for the third.
This is not pessimism. Quite the opposite.
Sixty is an invitation to begin a new chapter—one that is lighter, freer and perhaps more meaningful than any that came before.
This is the time to do all those things you have postponed for years. Read the books you never opened. Visit the places you always wanted to see. Learn something new. Reconnect with old friends. Most importantly, stop carrying unfinished emotional baggage.
Even those who feel life has passed without much planning or direction can start afresh. There is no age limit for beginning again.
For decades, we have lived for others—parents, spouses, children, careers and responsibilities. The years after sixty offer an opportunity to live a little more for ourselves. And strangely enough, by becoming more self-sufficient and content, we also lessen the burden our anxieties place upon those around us.
Perhaps the greatest lesson this stage of life teaches us is to reduce our wants.
An old Chinese is saying: No matter how many thousands of acres of farmland a person owns or how much grain he harvests, only a few morsels ultimately find their way into his mouth. Likewise, however many houses one possesses, all one really needs at night is a six-foot space to sleep.
The truth is remarkably simple.
If we have enough food on our plate and enough money to meet our needs, we should not permit worry to become a permanent companion.
There is also wisdom in accepting what cannot be changed. We spend too much energy trying to rearrange people, circumstances and outcomes that are beyond our control. At sixty and beyond, there can be few greater blessings than letting go of that habit.
Our happiness belongs to us.
Our thoughts are our own.
The better those thoughts become, the more goodness they create and the greater peace they bring.
Every day that passes is, technically, one day less from our lifespan. But if that day has been spent with contentment, laughter and peace of mind, then perhaps it is fair to say that life has actually gained a day rather than lost one.
People often say that a calm mind can heal many ailments. Whether science fully agrees or not, those who have experienced inner peace know there is some truth in it.
At this stage of life, one important realisation quietly arrives.
You are enough.
So, don’t merely turn sixty.
Feel twenty at sixty.
Live lightly. Laugh often. Worry less. And give yourself permission to enjoy the years you have earned.
