O/T - on the subject of aging

[Guest guest]

Hello All

I thought this column in today's Montreal Gazette was worthy of sharing.

On the subject of aging....

Happy reading,

Cheers,

Cheryl-Anne

Ommm my! I'm old

MIKE BOONE

The Gazette

April 15, 2005

Satori, in Zen, is sudden awareness - the ah-ha! moment that a Buddhist

scholar called " the sudden flashing into consciousness of a new truth

hitherto undreamed of, " a " sort of mental catastrophe taking place all at

once. "

There are many satori on the path to enlightenment. I had one a while ago on

the 211 bus.

Not the ideal setting for a transcendent experience. I wasn't wearing

saffron-coloured robes. My fellow strap-hangers weren't leaning on banyan

trees.

But the moment, when it occurred, had the satorial force of a lightning

bolt.

First, the back story:

One of my colleagues - whom I won't identify, but his initials are

Marsden - was telling a few of us about an embarrassing incident that had

occurred during his morning commute. A young woman had offered him her seat

on the bus.

We let him have it with the full arsenal: jokes about the sweet bird of

youth having flown, sexual dysfunction, " senior moments. "

The best Bill could do for a comeback was point out he'd been wearing a wool

hat - this happened in late winter - which may have accentuated a false

impression of infirmity.

Flash forward to the very next morning on the inbound 211. You know what's

coming - and I wasn't wearing a hat.

I was standing near a CEGEP student (this was pre-strike) perusing her

chemistry textbook. Looking up from molecular diagrams as we pulled into the

Dorval Circle, she asked me what time it was.

Something about the way I said " 9:15 " must have motivated her to ask another

question:

" Would you like to sit down? "

" Where's the hidden camera? " I wondered. " Will this end up on

www.hoistbymyownpetard.com? Did Marsden set me up? "

" You don't understand, " I wanted to say. " It's 1967. I'm 19 years old. When

the bus reaches downtown, how about we go blow a jay and listen to Sgt.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band? "

But on this Magical Misery Tour, enlightenment pre-empted delusion. The

hitherto undreamed of, mentally catastrophic reality was I looked like

someone who needed to take a load off.

After satori, " you no longer see the world in the same way, you have a

different perception of life. " There is " a sense of the beyond, arriving at

a destination. "

When we arrived at Lionel Groulx metro, I stepped aside to let the young

girl go out the back door of the 211.

The old guy had to disembark at the front - to get the transfer I'd

forgotten to ask for.

Next stop: those " memory care and assisted living " apartments I hear

advertised on the radio. Sensible walking shoes. And a good seat at the

mall.

In her New York Times column this week, Maureen Dowd pointed out " despite

boomers' zealous attempts to stop time - with fitness and anti-aging

products, with cosmetic enhancements by needle, laser and knife - time has

caught up. "

Strive, then, toward Zen-like acceptance of aging. Grin and bear it (but

don't bare it.)

It's said that after satori, you see things more clearly (albeit, in my

case, through bi-focals.)

And you get a seat on the bus.

Stratégie de Communication Med Summit Inc/Sommets Médical

FMC/FSC Stratégie de Communication, Planification et Coordination

CME/CHE Communication Strategy, Planning and Coordination Tel: (1)

514-782-2004 Fax (1) 514-782-8777

This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information. If you

are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by

return e-mail, delete this e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination

or use of this information by a person other than the intended recipient is

unauthorized and may be illegal.Med Summit Inc. reserves the right to

monitor all e-mail communications through its networks for quality control

purposes. Ce message électronique et les fichiers qui y sont joints peuvent

contenir des renseignements confidentiels. Si vous n'êtes pas le

destinataire visé, veuillez en aviser immédiatement l'expéditeur en

répondant à ce message; effacez ensuite le message et détruisez toute copie.

La diffusion ou l'usage de ces renseignements par une personne autre que le

destinataire visé n'est pas autorisé et peut constituer un acte illégal. Med

Summit/Sommets Médical Inc. se réserve le droit de surveiller toutes les

communications transmises par courrier électronique par l'intermédiaire de

ses réseaux à des fins de contrôle de la qualité.