What does it mean to be happy when you cross 50 years? Does it only come in the form of young grandchildren running about and giggling from the next room? Or does happiness stem from the achievements of your children?

While it’s true that there’s nothing like the relief of knowing that your family is well-settled and satisfied, their happiness is not personal happiness; it’s more like happiness by proxy. Then what does it really mean to be happy in old age?

Finding happiness and meaning in the simplest of things is often what motivates senior members of our community to get through the difficult journey through old age.

Medical conditions that arise during our later years often restrict them to the confines of their house, while a general cognitive decline may also isolate them from their friends.

Over time, the struggle to find reasons to be happy becomes as real as the struggle to reach for the glass of water on their bedside table. So what do you do to make it better? We’re glad you asked.

Books Are A Man’s Best Friend

When people fail to stick by your side through sickness and in health, it’s all those hardbacks that had been lying on your shelves for decades that come to your aid. There’s a different kind of comfort to be found in enveloping yourself in the pages of a book.

The fictional setting becomes your world and you become a character in it. If anything, it’s like a recreational drug that allows you to escape reality for as long as you wish to.

Often times, the characters and their life struggles serve as a mirror to your own life, and make you feel recognized. It’s through someone else’s lens that you learn to find beauty in the minute details and become happy.

Use Your Age As Your Aid

Most people disdainfully reflect on the time when they were able to ride on horseback without the fear of falling or swim long laps without running out of breath. True, old age does put a limit on your physical mobility, but it’s important not to discount what it adds—years of experience and knowledge. If you’re a mastermind at planning and strategizing, for instance, we bet there’s no one who’s as good as you in a game of chess.

If you’ve been able to con people and come out unscathed—all in good fun of course—maybe you can become a master of card tricks in your circle! Remember: with seniority, comes the advantage of experience and expertise, both of which are invaluable assets to the entire community and definite reasons for lasting happiness.

At AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care, we help an assisted community of seniors live independently in Beverly Hills, CA. Join hands with us and find new reasons to smile under our shelter! Contact us for more details on how and where to reach us. We’ll be waiting for our new family!