Aging

Yeah, it's time for a virtual campfire sit down with Terry Weiss. Welcome to Weiss's Thoughts. All right, hey, welcome, Welcome everyone, Welcome to the podcast. Welcome to Weis's Thoughts. I am Terry Weiss, as stated in that intro, right, and how you doing. I'm glad you're so so inclined to join me today for the podcast. I appreciate it. And remember I do have a website, Weis's Thoughts dot com. Just spell my name right, Wycwis thoughts dot com. Let's get into it, shall we. Well? Today on the podcast, we're gonna we're gonna talk about the things you learn as you get older or gain in years. I know it's all about being young into today's society, but we're gonna talk about things you learn as you as you gain in years here today on the podcast. But before we do that, Before we do that, let's let's get to It's that time again. It's time for the wordsmith word of the episode. Thank you, mister announcer extraordinaire. And today's word is what is its? Oh say that again? All right? Sinescence. It is the condition or process of deterioration with age. You can use it in a sentence in the following manner. Sinescence comes with aches and pains, however, it's also a time to appreciate your journey through life. And it's spelled s E n es c E n c e wow, a lot of a lot of S sounds and C sounds. So it's s as in Sam. He is an Edward and is in Nancy. He is an egg, essays, and Sally See is in Charlie, e is in essence and is in no Sea is in Charlie again, and he is an egg sinescence. And it's pronounced Just to make sure we're doing it Correctlys, There we goenson cinessence And that's today's wordsmith word of the episode for you here on Weisfe's thoughts. That way you can go out be a wordsmith in the world and show everybody how big your brain is. And I do the same. So how are you? As we record the podcast here on this episode, the time has changed here in the northeastern half of the United States from whence the podcast cometh, we are now back. What is it fall back? It's fall back in the east and spring ahead in the springtime, but it's we have fallen back, so we gained an hour of sleep yesterday of array. I certainly could have used that. And I know a lot of you out there that live in the northeastern half of the US and that follow this whole, you know, spring ahead and fall back with the clocks, can appreciate the extra hour of sleep. I know I certainly have come to appreciate that. However, However, that being said, you know, there's I remember, I don't know. Is it just me, folks? Is it just me? But I remember growing up there was there wasn't all this fear mongering going on with the changing of the clocks in the last few years. Whenever we change the clocks, whether it's forward or it's back, all your hairs. Oh, the effects it has on your body, The things it can do, danger, danger, Will Robinson, danger, the things it does supposedly to your body. And I just I don't know. I don't see it. I mean, I I don't know. Do you see it? Do you feel it when the clocks change? I really don't. I'm pretty much a creature of habit, I guess, or a human being of habit, and it really doesn't seem to affect me too much. But yet some people, some people that you talk to, they're like, oh my god, the clocks changed. I don't know what to know. Oh oh, I don't know. I can't catch up on my sleep. I can't do this, I can't do that, and I feel weird for a day or two or this, or you know. I think some people, between you and me, all right, between you and me and this microphone, I think some people use it as an excuse to be lazy. But hey, hey, that's just me, man. What can I say? I don't know. I'm just some middle aged guy, you know, rambling through life. But I guess that all ties into our theme of the podcast on this episode of you know, how do you feel about you know, getting older and things that happen when you get older? And we're going to talk about that here on the podcast too date. By the way, though, check out one more a couple more quick shameless plugs. I'm sorry, a couple more quick shameless plugs before we get started, more shameless plugs. Yeah, yeah, okay, whatever, okay, sorry, yeah, Weis's Thoughts dot com and the YouTube channels Wife's Thoughts on YouTube. Uh you got there to go there to check that out. And also you can look for me on YouTube also at Terry Weiss for the channel. So I got a couple of YouTube channels. I opened up the Terry Weiss YouTube channel here and just dropped a couple of shorts here in the past week. Uh And for those of you who don't know what shorts are, don't be like, oh my god, he's taking his clothes off. No, shorts are like quick little snippets of video. Think of it, uh, TikTok light Okay, TikTok with TikTok without the invasive possibility of your phone being compromised or your mind being I don't know what's the word I'm looking for, your mind being fall there you go, okay. So anyway, so that's that. I'm not for the shameless plugs. You know where to go, you know where to go to find me. You know where to go if you need voice over work. Podcast production stingers explain all that stuff. Anyway, let's get into the episode, shall we. Enough enough? I know, mister producer extraordinary over there is banging on the glass and the walls and saying, come on, get on with it. Man. So that's what I show too. So getting older, how do you feel about it? You know, there's a lot especially in American culture. In American culture to fight, fight the aging process with all our heart and soul, to go kicking and screaming into your latter years. It's like it's it's all youth focused, all around, all centered around that. I would say maybe eighteen to twenty eight or dare I say eighteen to thirty demographic? At least that's what I've seen and experienced. Everything's really kind of focused around that. And there are a myriad of products, programs, and shows and advertising emphasis on staying young, keeping young, being young, And I think there's a lot to be said for enjoying the journey as you age. I mean, I'll share with you. I'm I'm in my I'm in my mid fifties, okay, latter side of mid fifties, heading towards sixty. I am not ashamed of it. I embrace it. Some days I feel better about it than others. I'll be honest. I've experienced a lot a lot in my life. I've experienced a lot of things, both good, bad, and indifferent. I've learned a lot of things. I've learned a lot about what I settle for, what I am willing to dare I say to tolerate. Okay, I've learned a lot about the world around me, the people around me. Some things I'm how do I articulate this and convey this. Some things I'm very pleased about as I've gotten older, and some things I'm very disheartened about and really saddened by. In regards and in reference to let me give you a point of reference, in reference to how the world is, how the world has changed, especially my country, especially the United States of America, I have seen a transformation. And while some good things have come along, I think as a society, as a nation, as a people in the US, and I'm speaking of the US. I'm not sure where you're listening from. You can take stock and do some reflective thought on your own country where you happen to be living and listening to the podcast today. The United States, I think has to has to kind of do some real soul searching. And I'm not here to paint a picture of Oh my god, it sucks, it's terrible, it's all. We're doomed. I don't believe we're doomed, but I think We've got a lot of growing up to do as a nation. We've I think a lot of us, a lot of us, not all of us, but some of us in this nation. And I'm going to chastise you. You act like spoiled children, expecting a lot of things just to fall into place and go your way all the time. Well, speaking to that portion of society, folks, it doesn't work that way. You're going to have some victories, yes, but you're going to have some challenges. Been through it you Probably some of you listening say yeah, I know, I've been through it. And some of you that are listening may not have experienced your first great setback in life. Yet it's those things, those setbacks in life, that are going to make or break you. And I cannot emphasize enough because again again I'm not trying to chastise you. I'm not trying to tell you, oh, I'm so much better than you, and I am. You know I have all the answers. I don't. None of us, I think have all the answers. Some of us have more experience and can offer more assistance and insight into things. However, you have to experience, you have to go through you have to learn from your triumphs and your failures. And it just seems to me over the past decade or so that some segments of our society, dare I say, they only want they want to go through the small you know, the the what's the word I'm looking for when you go and eat a lot of food, and the buffet, the buffet of life. They just want to pick and choose what they want to pick and choose, and they you know, I'll have success, I'll have some of that. Put that on my plate. I'll have some of the Oh, the high paying income, yes. Oh, the expert health, yes, the day to day satisfaction, yes, I'll take that. Oh the self esteem, give me the high self esteem. I'll put that on my plate. They don't want to mess with some of the challenges and trials and tribulation that happened to all of us in life. They happen to everybody, such as, oh wait, what's that indecision? No, I don't want any of that. Oh anxiety No No, Oh loss of a job, no, bad relationships, no poor decision on you know, career move, Nope, I don't want none of that. Oh obstacles, Oh, you know obstacles, Nope, I don't want a Nope, don't put that on my plate. I don't want none of that. And this has I think, led to a false narrative, and especially in American culture, that everything's going to always go your way all the time. Nothing, my friends, could be further from the truth. You know it, and I know it. Let's just get real here for a moment, shall we. Let's get real. And you know, some people just don't want to deal with things, and hey, you know, I get it, I get it. Everybody wants that smooth road. I understand. I wanted to believe me. However, you know, we all have to. I was watching a documentary on Netflix of all places, the other day. It's called Sly. It's about Sylvester Stallone. Is an actor, a writer, director, an author, you know, a philanthropist, you know, amongst many things. But Sylvester Stallone, there's a great there's one of the great success stories of life, if you want to check that out. And one of the things he said, and he put it in one of his movies, I think it was Rocky five. He's about punching you know, Life's gonna punch you. Life punch is harder. No matter what you do, life is gonna punch harder. I believe that was the quote. Reflecting on it now and in the movie he says, it's it's that that's gonna happen to you. It's how you get up after you get punched and knocked down, you know, and get cut off at the knees, and how you react to that. So take a little sip here, Sorry about that. Just gotta try and keep the the pipes lubricated. And I'm bringing one of the fundamental rules of podcasting broadcasting. What have you thinking? Something sugary? But boy, I just I don't know lately. I'm not a PEPSI kick. I like my PEPSI not a lot. I don't drink it. Boy the gallleful. But anyway, I digress. It's how you react when life, you know, kicks you in the gut, kicks you in the rear end, you know, cuts you off at the knees. Now, there's other things as well too. In aging you get a lot of wisdom. Most of us gain wisdom as we gain in years. We gain the aches and pains, But that that can be mitigated by a proper diet. It's the fundamental thing. And I'm just as guilty as a lot of us out here with not following a proper diet. Okay, I'm not again, I'm not here to preach to you. I'm just here to have casual conversations and share my insight and information that I've experienced and hopefully it helps you where at least gets the conversation going in your world. And following a proper diet is probably one of the best things you you can't do for your health overall, at any age, at any age. But look look at what we're what we're bombarded with on television and radio and advertising at all angles, even as you're driving around or walking around. You know McDonald's, Burger King, you know RB's, Uh, you know Yukon Jack's or you know In and out Burger, all that stuff. And again, no offense to any of these organizations. Okay, they're businesses and they have some great products. I mean it tastes good. I frequent them. Well I shouldn't say I frequent them. I eat at them on occasion as well, and and enjoy their products. So no offense to any of those people because I might want to work for them down the road doing some commercials. But what I'm what I'm trying to get at is there's a lot of choices out there, and you have to make informed decisions about your health. That's what you need to do, and the easiest way to do that is to get informed. No, Hey, like myself, I can't eat really hot spicy food. I can take some flavor with it. I can take a little bit of heat, but yet I know, like my cousin, one of my cousins, for example, can they pour hot sauce on their eggs? They love halipeno jilipinos and real hot hot hot like fire sauce and everything. The hotter the better for them, and their body can handle it. Mine can't. I bit into something, you know, many many years ago that was really hot, and showed it and said, okay, you know, I turned, I turned about four shades of red. Sweat was dripping down me. You know, I thought it was gonna die. You know, I was like, oh my god, I can't handle this. No, and those around me thought it was funny. At the time, I didn't think it was funny because there was a four alarm fire going on inside my mouth and guts. So I'm like, Okay, I guess I can't handle that. But again, you might know some people like I do that it's no big deal for them. You know, they eat hot stuff all the time. It's good for them and their system can handle it and they have really no ill effects. So those are things you'll learn. But it's your health. Again, as you age, your body's nutrient needs are going to change. I found that out some information I found out just through some basic internet, you know, due diligence. Is that your your body I think it's every seven to ten years rejuvenates itsels as you age, and that process tends to slow down the older you get, as the decades go on and on. So you got a chance. So if you feed your body some good things, and I'm not saying go outside and be a total vegan, and you got to eat grass, you know, and salad and roots and berries for the rest of your life. Just a balanced diet. I think common sense. You know, you can't sit around eating you know, gobs of chocolate out of a bag or you know, in the form of candy bars or gobs of chocolate and sweets all the time and expect to be healthy. Just you know, everything with balanced. You know, as a wise person once said, too much of anything is not probably good for you. You want to have balance in your life, definitely, So just remember that when it comes to your diet. The other thing too is you know, movement, getting a little bit of exercise, and no one says you have to go to the gym nine days a week and eighteen hours a day, you know, or train like you know Arnold Schwarzenegger trained throughout his life, or some Vester st Alone or mister Universe or all these you know, triathlete, on athletes and iron Man. But you know, you know what the best thing you can do for your health. And I've been doing it for years and I know I can. I can honestly say with true conviction that this has helped my health a lot since I started doing it, oh about fifteen plus years ago. You're ready, and it's really simple. You're gonna say, Terry, that's it. Do that. As far as exercise goes, well, you can do more. But if you at least do this, I'll guarantee you it will help you. Are you ready for what it is? Ready? Walk? What? Walk? That's it? It's as simple as that. Start walking. You can do it on a treadmill in your home if the weather, you know, isn't conducive, or you don't live somewhere where you can get out and do it. The best thing you can do, though, is get out in good old nature and take just walk. Now, you don't have to walk fifteen miles a day. When I started, I just started walking around my block, you know, where I was living at the time, and I gradually increased it. And you just walk at a comfortable pace, you know, depending on if you're in an area where there's traffic or something, you want to always walk facing traffic safety first, okay, but just get out and walk. Get out and walk, breathe in mother nature, enjoy it, you know, check out the birds and the trees or whatever, the bugs on the ground. You know. But just walk walking. And you can look this up again. You can Google this or you know, check it out on the internet. It is one of the best exercises for your whole body. Your whole body is walking, and you can start out small and gradually build up if you like. Now I tend to try and do at least a mile four days a week. Sometimes I do a mile and a half two miles of just walking. I throw on the headphones, you know, the noise canceling headphones, bring the phone, grab the old Apple watch, and you know, put on an outdoor walk and just walk. Listen to an audiobook or a podcast or the radio or what have you. Some you know, light, you know music, what have you? And I walk. Excuse me a little bit of allergies today, And it is as simple as that. But I'll tell you what if I wasn't walking and committed to that part of trying to maintain my my health as I gain in years, I know, oh I wouldn't fit through the door. Man, I would because the way I eat sometimes, you know, so it offsets that and I could probably be a lot healthier if I would eat a little bit better. But again, we all have our ore, you know, crosses to bear. But walking, so we talk about proper nutrition, you know, just looking at what you eat, and maybe you know, being more mindful, moderate light to moderate exercise. I mean, so many people, you see the statistics, you see the studies out there, you hear about it all over the place, and I'm sure your doctor maybe has told you man, Hey, you can't be sitting on the couch. Go to work, you sit all day in an office or you know, excuse me, you sit all day in an office or what have you. And then you get home, eat dinner, and then you sit all day. You're driving in your car. Just try and get out and do some walking. Start small. Like I said, talk with your doctor. Again, I'm not a I'm not giving you medical advice, so let me give you that disclaimer. But just you know, talk with your physician. See if it's it's you know it's safe for you. And if it is, which it is for most people, but double check, get out and walk. It's as simple as that. Now, it's not instant gratification like a lot of American society wants. But it'll take a little time, but you'll start feeling better. You will, You'll get those endorphins going, You'll help your lung capacity, help clean out your lungs a little bit. And it goes a long way. It really does. I mean, at least for me, I found it very beneficial. And if I don't do it for a couple three days in a row, let's say I was feeling under the weather or scheduling or whatever. I start going, Oh, I got I gotta get my walk in. I gotta either get on the you know, on the recumbent bike in the house or the treadmill, or if it's nice, I gotta go outside. I gotta go do my walk. I'm going to do my walk, you know, and I make sure I fit it in. So, you know, getting is something that we can all learn to appreciate, and we have to appreciate. I mean, nobody I remember growing up, being a young lad saying, man, I can't wait to grow up. Man, I'm gonna have a job. I'm gonna have my own money. I can buy all the toys I want. You know, when you're thinking, you know, you know, you're a youngster, you're thinking that way, I'm gonna do my own thing. And but then as you grow you realize, you know, food cost money. You know, shelter costs money, Vehicles cost money. Things you want to buy pleasure, you know that, you know, little toys and trinkets, and we just have different toys as we grow up. I mean, when we're younger, we have you know, toy trucks and trains and planes and dolls and board games and whatever. Now it's video you know, when you get older it can turn into video games. And for me, my toys are musical instruments and electronic equipment and you know, stuff like that nice TVs and computers and microphones and this, that and the other thing. You just as you get older, you acquire a different type of toy or toys as we get older. But we should embrace getting older. It happens, and it's going. I mean, they haven't invented the fountain of youth, okay, I mean all the plastic surgery and the botox in the world, and that is not going to prevent you from aging. It may it may stave off the appearance of some but I've seen some really bad botox and plastic surgery too, where it looks like they're hanging, you know, it's looked like somebody grabbed them from the top of the head and pulled their skin up, and like, oh, and you're paid for that. Oh God. But that being said, embrace getting older. Enjoy the journey. I find when I was younger, people told me that, and once I hit my I would say probably my mid to late thirties, early forties, it really sunk home enjoying the journey of aging. You can't put it off, you can't stave it off. You can't say no, I'm not going to age anymore. I mean, the only alternative to stop aging as a human being is to be dead. And I don't want that alternative because then you just stop aging and you start decaying, and you go on to whatever your beliefs are. So embrace it, you know, use the knowledge you get, learn from your experiences, and take that all in stride. I mean, they're you know, I mean, yeah, are there aches and pains as you get older, sure, but there's a lot a lot to be said for life experience. There's a lot to be said for you know, having the knowledge not only for your benefit, not only for you, but for helping maybe you know, your children or your grandchildren, or friends younger, if you have younger friends or what have you, or those around you now they may not want your advice, need your advice, or solicit your advice, but it's not used to know you're always there with it, you know, I have throughout my life and I started I actually started doing this a little in my twenties, subconsciously, not even knowing about it. I would ask people that were around me, because I worked in various situations, right you know, we're all mingling in public, We're not all going to work with people of our own age, you know, our own clique. And I would listen in on conversations with people a little older than me, you know, in the place where I was employed, I say, oh, okay, that's how they did that. Okay. And I would just come right out and sometimes and just ask them, Hey, you know, Bill, Mary, you know you've no offans, you've been here a while, and you know you've you've got a lot of experience in this. How how would you handle this? Or am I doing this? Is there a better way I can do this or handle this situation or look at this process? And I'll tell you what man folks said. Yeah, I mean even now at you know, in my mid you know, fifties, here, I talk to people that are older than me. A lot of the gentlemen I play music with in gals, they're a few years older than me. They always kind of pick on me in a fun, non you know, a non harmful way, just saying I'm the youngster, you know, because the people I play music with are sixties, sixty five, seventy, you know, seventy four, you know, fifty nine, et cetera. I'm the I like being the youngster. I'll take Yes, thank you, I'm the youngster. I'll take it. But that again, in itself, is nice. But you can learn a lot and as you age, the things you go through, you'll have a lot to offer others as well as helping you. You know, I know, American society really for the most part, is not geared towards people as they age. We want to kind of you know. Yeah, it's almost like the attitude out there is, Yeah, you can age as long as you don't get in our way and hinder us and in a way, shape or form. Yeah, it's okay, Grandma and grandpa, you can go ahead. You know. Like one of the things the younger generations like, you know, one of the insults I'd like to throw is it's like, okay, boomer, you know, that's their snarky insult. Well, you know, some boomers might know things that we don't. Okay, I would, And someday, god willing, you know, you're going to be old and their age and then you're going to be looking at the younger generation too, so you know, just remember to be respectful to everyone. I'd say, you want to be respectful to people, you know, because you don't know their path, you don't know their journey. I mean, even though, again in the United States of America, a lot of the societal thought is that younger, better vibrant, you know, I mean, there are whole industries that cater to elderly people and stuff. But what I think and what I feel and what I've seen leads me to believe that, yeah, it's okay to age in America as long as you don't get in anybody way or become a burden in any form. Long as you can do it over there in the corner and not you know, interfere with our daily life, then go ahead and age and you know, do your thing. And I think that's wrong. I mean, we can't forget about our elderly people. I mean, all the stuff we went through, you know, with the pandemic a while back and things like that. These people have knowledge, These people have stories, these people have experiences. They still have a lot to offer though they're you know, though their bodies. As we age, and though our bodies may start to not be as vibrant as they once were, we still have a lot to offer people. You'll have a lot to offer people as you age. And remember those around you that are older than you. They might not be able to run a four minute mile or five or even a ten or twenty minute mile. They might not be able to run at all, but they still have a lot to offer. So remember aging, it's not a you know, it's not a Aging is a life sentence, and God willing, we're all going to live to a vibrant, healthy as we can uh old age. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't seclude ourselves from society or remove ourselves from society. And those of us that are younger should not look at these people as being a burden on society. Hey, thanks for listening to the program today. I truly appreciate each and every one of you out there. And remember to see a change in the world, you have to be the change in the world you want to see. It all starts with you, the person looking back at you in the mirror every morning. Remember to be kind to yourself, be kind to others. If you want to tweet at me on Twitter, it's at Terry Weiss. Stop by the website Wis's thoughts dot com just to make sure you spell my name right. Wysee Wiss thoughts dot com, and hey, leave us a positive rating and review on your favorite podcast provider. Won't you tell your friends, tell your family, tell your pets about White's Thoughts, and I look forward to gathering yet again around the virtual campfire with you real soon. Take care,