ABSTRACT
The pace of life changes as you grow older. Circumstances gradually dictate a shift away from the sometimes frenetic activity, the busyness, of youth and middle age. Now you have more time to explore your state of being, even if you’ve never been much for reflection. The act of contemplation and the practice of meditation are presented as restoratives for the mind, promoting a time-out from worries and providing a sense of relaxation. The author describes three variations on meditation: sitting, walking, and listening. Whether you experiment with contemplation or meditation, you are practicing mindfulness—a calm and accepting awareness of the thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations that arise when you are in a reflective mood. Old age presents welcome opportunities to experience these states of non-doing—living and breathing in the present moment. You may arrive at a somewhat altered sense of yourself, a new normal.
