Sunrise of an old age

I have lost a couple of my childhood friends over the past six months for various reasons. Just today got another news of my childhood friend exiting this world. Made me sad. Also made me deeply introspect over the deeper level meaning of life and my place in it.

Sharing with my co-passengers. 

Apart from the usual issues like falling health, freeze on the inflow of finances, increasing dependency on others which are commonly associated with old age (and about these issues I am personally least worried), one issue which really haunts me is the harsh reality that your co-passengers on your most eventful and colourful very long long life journey will suddenly, abruptly, without notice, without saying goodbye get down the train when his station has come. The group remaining on train will keep on getting reduced and the dark shadow of the feeling of loneliness will start enveloping you. Having a very long life will have this curse of loneliness packaged with it. If I happen to live for hundred years - a healthy and wealthy life, still, with whom will I relate to then? Moreover, in the new age, there is no merit and respect for the seniority of old age as it used to be earlier and as we have ourselves faithfully observed. 

Moral of the story : Keep yourselves reinventing. Don't rest on your laurels. Make new friends. Network with the friends and relatives. Keep on learning new skills. Try to earn from some new avenues. Find your interests and nurture them. Be in the company of people who share your values. Keep open mind on making new relations. Fortunately a vast vista of online social network like FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and ofourse Whatsapp are throwing open immense new possibilities in these directions as I have mentioned above. Spend less time in entertainment, political debates, junk news, soap operas on TV and instead utilize your time gainfully in learning something new each day. Become rich in knowledge, skills and a new and growing network of like minded supportive friends.

Look forward at the world with each coming dawn with the eyes of a child full of curiosity, enthusiasm, adventurism instead of from the mindset of an old person with thousand bruises nurturing past wounds of insults and disappointments. 

Accept the reality that your co-passengers will get down as their station comes, but make friends with the new ones who are boarding the train at each station. Life is like a flowing river. Let not the waters of old age get stagnate. Keep flowing ... and on one lovely day, smoothly transit into a new world when your station arrives.

Every sunset is a sunrise on the other side. You can't label a beautiful picture as that of a Sunset. It can in fact be a Sunrise. Both are lovely and enjoyable in their own way. 

?Shrikant Soman