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Keep learning, socializing, maintaining faith and exercising, speakers advise.
By JEAN JOHNSON
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 13, 2001
SPRING HILL -- They might have had some theological differences, but people at a recent seminar all wanted to learn the same thing: how to live long, healthy, happy lives.
"The Joy of Living and Loving It" was the theme of the interfaith event, held at Temple Beth David Jewish Center and sponsored by the Jewish women's group Hadassah.
Panelists from different walks of life spoke during the discussion.
"We start at this age to think not so much as living long, but to be in good health and be instrumental in the life of the group. . . . We must understand what to do to live longer and to enjoy living longer," said Rabbi Erwin Cutler of the Pasco Community Jewish Center.
Cutler, who admits only to being old enough to "collect Social Security," defined old age as the time of life when we are too old to work and too young to die. He emphasized planning for that time of life.
"We look upon money as the thing that will give us happiness, but it's a matter of inner feeling and what we need to be secure," Cutler said. "The mind is going to dictate" what we'll be like in old age, he said.
"Never stop going to school and never stop broadening your horizons. Keep the mind open and alert and willing to try new skills and most of all develop new friends.
"Never have I enjoyed youth so utterly as in my old age. We must keep our faith and belief in God," Cutler said.
Joan Joens, the Hernando County Family YMCA health director, talked about the importance of exercise as people enter retirement.
She cited the case of an elderly man who goes to the Y every morning to exercise and announces as he passes the front desk how many push-ups he has done that day.
"I did seven today," he says. Or "I did five today."
The audience murmured to each other, "He's not getting much exercise."
"But that's okay," Joens said, "because other activity and staff members of the Y may be the only people this man sees or visits all day." That gives him a chance to socialize, which also is important for mental and physical health.
Joens said the heart is a muscle that needs exercise to stay healthy. Anything that increases the heart rate, such as aerobics, is a wonderful way to lengthen life and enhance its quality, she said.
Kathleen Lonergon is a lawyer, financial adviser and director of the Foster Care Review Board. She said grandparents who are raising grandchildren are bringing back the connectiveness into our society and culture.
Here's her advice to older people moving to Florida: Have a will and give power of attorney to a family member, friend or lawyer in the event you become unable to handle day-to-day requirements.
Lonergon suggested finding the good in other people and doing things for others.
"Put back more than what you take out of life," she said, "and as we get older we need to take time to reflect and find the things we feel will be most comfortable 50 years in the future."
Monsignor John Cippel, pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, thanked the 140 people in the audience for participating in the event.
"It takes an adventurous spirit to get out of the house and be involved. The very fact that you're here means you want to learn."
Cippel said today's culture is hostile to aging.
"I lived in East Africa for a number of years and it is a different culture. Our society is uncommon in the world. Its value is in young people to the degree that you can't call someone old," he said.
"In Tanzania, people called me "the old one,' which is a sign of respect. Gray hair is a sign of dignity and means that people must listen to what you have to say. We have lost that and we need to get it back."
In Tanzania, he said, wealth is counted in family, fields and years.
Cippel talked about viewing human life as God wanted it to be and how God has more for people than what they see here. He mentioned church groups that help congregants and members of the outside community keep their minds alert.
"The opportunities are there for people to become active and give themselves opportunities to socialize and meet new people: taking communion to the home-bound, hospitals and nursing homes, learning arts and crafts, joining widows and singles groups. All of these are opportunities to share and learn.
"No matter what stage of life you are in, you are valued."
An audience member asked how people could make themselves available to their churches or synagogues if they are not self-starters.
Cutler said people have to take charge of their lives and reach out to the community.
Another person from the audience said she finds herself lying about her involvement in her church because she feels guilty when talking to others who may be lonely.
Cippel said, "You must continue to witness who you are."
Dr. Ronald Gilberg, an internist who specializes in geriatrics, opened his talk with a question: What is aging? "Aging is a process that converts a healthy adult into a frail one and vulnerable to many diseases," Gilberg said.
He said many mysteries remain about the process of aging. He believes doctors must identify the risks involved in each elderly patient. The lack of social integration and exercise, he said, has been shown to cause greater fatigue, more doctor visits and an increase in drug use and dependency.
"Personal lifestyle is significantly involved in the aging process, although the influence of age on one's personality is very slight," Gilberg said.
Gilberg has found that early intervention with a potential problem in aging can add more than 10 years to a person's life.
An audience member asked Gilberg about his experiences with patients who have a strong spiritual faith as opposed to those who don't and how this affects health or recuperation from an illness.
Gilberg said this is a sensitive area because most physicians don't want to push faith on a person who doesn't believe.
"But if the patient has faith, the doctor should bring the person and his faith together," he said.
As an example, he mentioned Steve Allen Jr., the physician son of the late actor and comic Steve Allen. Steve Allen Jr. is known to use comedy as a healing tool in his practice.
"Observations have shown the power of prayer," Gilberg said. "For someone who has the feeling of God within him, prayer is very, very important."