This Old Man-Intro

Even as I sit down and write the first words of this book about the power of personal opinions to shape the world I"m struck by the irony of its title, "This Old Man". Is that me? Is it true? My personal opinion of myself tells me yes. I am an old man. Almost immediately I can hear the protests start as people older than myself who chime in with their opinions that I am just a young buck and have a long way to go before I can call myself old. 

Then, too, from the other side, I hear the protests from my children and friends, and with it comes their opinions of where I am in my life. Chiming in with cliques about being only as young as you feel, and being young at heart, they put the mental images of a walker and cane I have surrounded myself with back in the closet, and drag me out to greet the day on more time. I try to learn something new every day, and when I am done, I return to my favorite chair. Sinking into the soft cushion, I feel the aches and pains caused by my physical activities reminding me that I am not a young man any longer. Physically, I am an old man, and I wonder where the times of my youth have gone.

As the pain in my back and joints begins to subside, with a little help from my beloved heating pad, my next personal opinion of myself comes to mind. I am a happy old man. This is much preferred over the many grumpy old men I have met in my lifetime. As I run with this thought I become more aware of the many grumpy old women I have met also. Women live longer than men so I guess if you start down that grumpy path, it is no wonder they get so grumpy. They have more years in which to perfect it. Can you imagine having ten or twenty extra years to live as a grumpy old woman? 

I am a happy old man and getting happier each day. So what is it that makes all the difference between happy and grumpy? The answer comes to me in a flash of brilliance. It is wisdom. I have become a wise old man. Now remember, this is just my own personal opinion of myself. You can feel free to disagree with me and form your own opinion of me yourself. To do that you will have to get to know me better. Then we will have to talk about it. I am telling you the truth. I have become a wise old man.

Even as I stop to ponder this revelation, that it is wisdom that has led me to this happy place that makes getting older more tolerable, I have to wonder if wisdom is really reserved for the old and wise. What would have happened had I gained it earlier on in my life? There are very few of us old fogies who haven't mused that if we knew what we know now, back when we were young, we could have got to this happy place much quicker. 

The idea of being young and wise goes against tradition and the conventional wisdom of our times. That in itself makes it worth pursuing. I spent a lot of my youth running around like a rebel without a cause. Here is one cause I can accomplish, without getting up out of my favorite chair. Just the thought of being able to tell those grumpy old men and women they got it wrong puts a smile on my face. 

With that thought in mind I have set out to find a way for the young people of today to add wisdom to their lives so they can be happy long before they are too old to take advantage of its power to change the many opinions that now run amok, wreaking havoc on our ability to relate to one another, and causing so much unhappiness. 

Boy! That was a mouthful. In short, how would you like to learn to add wisdom to your own personal opinions without having to put up with old wise men like me telling you what you should think, and what it would be wise for you to do next? Aren't you tired of hearing, "I told you so", every time you turn around?