I now find myself in the new normal year of 2016. Like the
original New Normal TV series in the US, the year 2016 echoes a frightening reality.
There is no such possibility as going back to normal times. What with the
tumultous pre-campaign word war and tabloid media where certain quarters are
entertaining the possibility of resurrecting the horrors of martial law, the
threat of terrorism, the subtle creeping invasion of China, the escalating
traffic mess, population explosion, divorce, same sex marriage, etc.- all
happening in my progressively sensitive senior years.
Added to these, I am now unable to send my thoughts to my
contemporaries, friends and relatives. Gmail has branded my email messages as
spam and has therefore blocked and bounced my bulk mail. So, I have temporarily
stopped writing blogs waiting for feedback from my favorite email recipients.
Unfortunately, I got very few queries.
I am now in the process of trimming my emailing list,
maintaining those who showed concern and some interest. I need to keep writing
to exercise and stimulate my brain cells to keep them from shrivelling.
Part of my realization for the new normal is that time
marches on unempeded and determines my chronological age. My biological age is determined
by my health conditions and can therefore slow down plummeting chronological
age. Psychological age also hinders or accelerates aging and is determined by
how old I feel I am. While we don't have control over chronological age, we can
take care of our health with good diet, exercise and a cheerful mental outlook.
A positive attitude and optimistic thinking can reverse the third psychological
age – an age that is greatly enhanced and affected by one’s self-esteem.
Apart from deep Faith, the most relaxing and recreating
forces are healthy and religious attitudes, good sleep, music and laughter. But
our secret should be on the internal satisfaction and happiness we derive by knowing
in conscience that we are doing our utmost to ensure that our grandchildren and
greatgrandchildren will inherit a country that is better than what we inherited
from our ancestors.
