雖然退休了好多年，以前「老」這個字眼好像跟自己沾不上邊，但不知何時「老」像個病毒似的無聲無息地襲進心房。是漸漸花白稀疏的頭髮？是臉上歲月的痕跡？是運動後卡卡的膝關節？是蛤了半天的聽力？還是滿口補補缺缺不能滿足口腹之慾的大爛牙？不管原因為何，突然警覺這種消極負面的感覺實在是催老的活化劑。老化是一個很自然又不可避免的過程，好好得接受「老」的事實與「老」協調並與退化共處；這全與心態有關。我在網上讀到一段我很喜歡的話: 「如果人能用詩意的眼光來看人生，也許就會把人生中的落日時期視為最快樂的時期。他不但不會竭力延遲老年的到來，反而會積極盼望它來臨，並使這段時光成為他生活最美好、最快樂的一段。」
2023.12.22 補記: 在網路上看到一段話，特記於此。「78歲的林琼姿在 5 年前展開一個人的郵輪旅行，以108天環遊北半球一圈。她認為保有好奇心和求知慾是年輕的秘方。」
2024.01.05 補記: 林語堂在《吾國與吾民》的一段話，很像我現在的心境，記下來供以後回顧。「我們的國運正處在多事之秋﹐無論國家和個人的生命，都會達到一種瀰漫著初秋精神的時期，翠綠夾著黃褐，悲哀夾著歡樂，希望夾著追憶。到了生命的這個時期，春日的純真已成追憶， 夏日的繁茂餘音嫋嫋，我們瞻望生命，問題已不在於如何成長，而在於如何真誠度日，不在於拚命奮門，而在於享受僅餘的寶貴光陰，不在於如何浪費體力，而在於如何保存實力，準備過冬。自覺已到達某一境地，安下心來，找到自己追求的目標。也自覺有一些成就，比起往日的輝煌雖然顯得微不足道，卻值得珍惜，宛如一座失去夏日光彩的秋林，仍然保有耐寒的韌力。」
Although I have been retired for many years and the word "old" did not seem to have anything to do with me before, I don’t know when somehow “oldness” silently invaded my heart like a virus. Is it the graying and thinning hair? Is it the marks of age on the face? Is it the stuck knee joint after exercise? Is it a hearing impairment effect? Or is it a full mouth of rotten teeth that can't enjoy good food? Regardless of the reason, I suddenly became aware that this negative feeling was an activator of aging. Aging is a natural and inevitable process. We should learn to accept the fact of aging, harmonize with it and live with it. All is about mindset. I read a quote online that I really liked: "If a man can look at life with a poetic eye, perhaps he will regard the sunset period of his life as the happiest. Instead of trying to delay the coming of old age, he would look forward to it and make it the best and happiest time of his life!"
2023.12.22 Added: I saw a passage on the Internet and wrote it down here. "78-year-old Lin Qiongzi embarked on a solo cruise trip five years ago, traveling around the northern hemisphere in 108 days. She believes that retaining curiosity and a desire for knowledge is the secret to youth."
2024.01.05 Added: Lin Yutang's words in My Country and My People are very much like my present state of mind so I have written them down for future reference. "Our national destiny is in a critical autumn, when both the life of the nation and the life of the individual reach a period pervaded by the spirit of early autumn, green mixed with yellow, sorrow mixed with joy, hope mixed with memory. At this period of life, the innocence of spring has become a memory, the luxuriance of summer lingers in the air, and we look at life with a problem no longer of how to grow, but of how to spend our days sincerely, no longer of how to strive, but of how to enjoy the remaining precious moments, no longer of how to waste our strength, but of how to conserve it and prepare for winter. We feel that we have reached a certain stage, and we settle down and find our own goal. We also feel that we have some achievements, which, though insignificant compared with the glory of the past, are still worth cherishing, like a forest that has lost its summer splendor but still retains its cold-resistant toughness."
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