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Selflessness Repels Frailty and Aging
The gloomy adage that every breath we take is one step closer to death implies that we're on a perpetual course to frailty and decline.
Yet, ninety-four-year-old Columbia, Missouri resident Eugenia Crain has been a model of happiness and health at every stage. Although she's an inspiration to many who know her, most can't put their finger on how she does it. There are many aspects to her approach to life, but one of the most impressive element is selflessness.
Eugenia says, "From a young age, I learned that it doesn't make any difference how people treat you, what people say about you, or how difficult they may be to love. I've never let any of that bother me. I just try to love and stay focused on serving." She also says that, because of the service-oriented mental atmosphere she created for herself, she never missed a day due to illness during high school, college, or 40 years of work -- including 37 years teaching high school accounting.
Taking her unique view of others a step further, Eugenia continues, "I never believed that age led to decline when I was young -- when I looked at others, or when I envisioned my own future." Maintaining this view throughout her life has had a positive impact on those around her, and set the tone for future phases of her own life.
During 30-plus years of "retirement," Eugenia has remained fully "employed" in her approach to life. Every morning, she awakes to her alarm clock, and keeps herself just as active and useful as when she was in the workplace -- maintaining her own home, volunteering, and praying for the world. "We can't sit around and think about ourselves all the time. The more we help others, the happier we are. There are so many ways to be busy serving."
Eugenia has demonstrated what researchers also have discovered. A recent article in Health Day entitled, "Retirement May Not Agree with Your Health," reports that seniors who keep working appear healthier than those who retire. "Remaining in the labor force is healthier for you. It's healthier because working keeps you physically and mentally engaged."
"I haven't felt old," Eugenia said. "But it's something deeper than optimism. It's the knowledge that God is the source of my power. My mission is to share what's worked for me, so other people can enjoy the same kind of life I have."
Above all, Eugenia says, it's that trust in an all-loving and all-powerful God -- rather than reliance on human strength alone -- that has propelled her full and productive life. "I don't feel that I, or anyone, can ever be separated from God's love, care and protection."
There's much to learn from the way Eugenia's selfless outlook has impacted her longevity. Here are a few takeaways:
· Change your view of life purpose: Society trains us to believe that limitations accompany every stage of life. If we give in to these ideas, they're self-fulfilling. Instead, like Eugenia, we can choose to see the innate, God-given capabilities, purpose and value of every person -- unaffected by age, always improving and flourishing! The more we're willing to see the more spiritual, unlimited and ageless potential of those around us, the more we're able to achieve it ourselves -- at every stage in life.
· Change your definition of "retirement": A lifetime of experience has tremendous power to benefit family, friends, organizations, communities and society. View retirement as a time to remain engaged in life by serving, contributing, focusing outward, and -- perhaps even more powerfully -- upward toward the divine.
· Change your perspective on other people: We may not be able to control the way people think about or treat us, but we can control the way we think about and treat those people. When we occupy our thoughts with unselfishness, forgiveness and love -- and accept the God-given goodness in each one, even if they don't exhibit it yet -- it has a positive impact on our own mental and physical health.
Ultimately, we have the strongest potential to overcome both mental and physical decline when we focus on selfless service, and when we hold a more spiritual viewpoint of ourselves, others, and the source of human ability -- finding it in a power that's unimpaired by human theories.
This article is co-authored by Deborah Sherwood and Cindy Sheltmire. Deborah Sherwood is a published health writer, and the media and legislative liaison for Christian Science in Missouri. Cindy Sheltmire is a realtor serving the Columbia, Missouri area, and a member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Columbia.
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