Paalala sa Sarili at Kapwa Manggagawa
This post is in Tagalog and English. The image is AI generated. Get well soon and heal faster idol Lani Larsen!
BAGO BUMANGON para maghilamos, maginit ng pangkape at maglakad-lakad sa barangay ng East Auckland, matamis na binulong sa kin ng aking maybahay, happy birthday Mahal, bago ito bumaluktot at natulog pa nang konti bago kumalembang ang alarm.
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No understating the fact, at my advanced age, every birthday is important. Even more so now is the 60-milestone, which in some countries including the Philippines marks you as a “senior citizen”, setting you apart from the young-ish populations of both your birth and adopted countries.
Modesty aside, I’m sometimes told I don’t look my age. I foolishly believe in that conceit, knowing too well that inside me, my mortal engine has already started the process toward slowdown and inevitable decay. As if to hold back Father Time, I start reminding myself to do the “little things” to extend what little youthfulness I have, which I generously share with you Precious Reader.
pagbabawas ng mga “libangan” na pumapatay sa yo. Alak sigarilyo at sugar. Kaya pa ito labanan nung iyong katawan nung kabataan mo pero hindi na ngayon. No other way to say it. Anything your body doesn’t need which you put in your body is POISON.
Wala na sa family history , akisdente or biglaang sakit ang magiging dahilan nang maaga mong pagsakit at kamatayan. If not cirrhosis or emphysema or diabetes, it will be an own-goal or self-inflicted illness that you will be giving yourself.
It’s not too late, but every day counts. I was a smoker for 25 years, ate everything Mahal couldn’t finish and was a social drinker before I realized: “why am I killing myself?” The “senior connection” is that your body begins to change and can no longer use its resources to keep fighting the poisons you constantly put it, because it has to maintain other bodily functions that are harder and harder to do. Before you know it, you will be sick, so together let’s quit these poisons. There are many quit and cessation videos on YouTube, using a variety of approaches and techniques, no excuse kabayan.
Pagiwas sa mga gawain ng mga kabataan at ng mga edad beinte hanggang kwarentahin. Di na pwede magwhole court buong hapon. Di na pwedeng makipag shot-shot o tagayan sa tropa hapon hanggang madaling araw. Di na pwedeng magbyahe ng walang tulog, baka di lang sarili ang madisgrasya kundi ang pasahero.
I was on a rotating night, twilight and day shift for nearly 15 years. It was ageing me at probably twice the normal human rate, and wreaking havoc and chaos on my bodily routines and rhythms, but at the time I had no idea. Everything, and believe me kabayan friend everything in your body, from your biochemical and hormonal metrics to your liver, brain and heart health is affected by shift work, and sadly this will only begin to show in your late middle age.
Inevitably, the habits and practices of youth that one never gave a second thought before doing now deserve a careful consideration once, twice and even thrice before actually doing. Muscles and joints are less flexible, less brain cells to kill everytime you binge on alcohol, and fatigue now a chronic overstayer instead of a one-night stand whenever you indulge in too many pleasures.
You just want to reach your savings goal, nest egg and fill up your Kiwisaver before you call it a day.
Stop thinking of the opposite sex all the time. According to more than one study, men think of sex an average 19 times a day (roughly twice the female counterpart). I find that outrageous, as I probably do double that. Wala naman akong ginagawa, hanggang kathang isip lang.
I know it’s part of biology, the instinct to breed or procreate. But little by little and I know this is a gradual thing, there are other pursuits in life. It’s unseemly to be obsessed by something you don’t do regularly anymore, and I guess imagination to a certain limited extent is healthy, but moderation is the key.
Gone are the days of falling in love and falling in lust, and chasing the dream girl (or boy) without any regard for the consequences. No more spontaneous emotional outbursts, but at least you have the memory of one who has loved and lost, and loved again.
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I once chased a girl to the ends of the earth, a pretty young thing that had the audacity to kiss me on the mouth when no one was the wiser. I burned through commitments, coin and common sense only to discover what I refused to see: not only was the object of my affection saddled by her own obligations, but that she was incapable of love for anyone else but herself.
That’s probably a little too much information coming from a wrinkled old OFW like me, but you get my meaning: the pleasures of long lost youth are in the rear view mirror now. Like many of us, you probably sent most of your money to help out family and other people, and you should just focus on health and comfort of the remaining years ahead.
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It sounds cruel and brutal, but better hearing it from me now than from someone you love later: For most of us in our late middle to old age, no one is going to look after you. You can’t expect your kids to do so, and most probably your spouse or loved one has problems of their own.
Masasaktan ka lang kung sa tingin mo aalagaan ka ng mga anak o kamag-anak mo, kahit gaano ka pa kabait sa kanila.
Got lots of other things to share, but I’ve taken enough of your time. By reading til the end, you’ve done the equivalent of celebrating my 60th with me, belated though it may be.
Thanks for reading, mabuhay!
