Dear Friends,
I’m at my wits’ end trying to figure out how to convince a relative that she is not too old to visit new places. It’s especially frustrating as she was quite a traveler in her younger days and loved to explore nature in faraway places. And no, she has no physical abilities or medical condition that would inhibit traveling.
It got me thinking about why, as some of us age, we hesitate to try new things, meet new people, travel to new places or even check out different venues in places we’ve visited before. I accept that aging causes us to be comfortable with routines, and venturing outside of our comfort zone poses risks. And let’s face it, dealing with unfamiliar stuff can be intimidating. The flip side of that, of course, is staying exclusively inside our comfort zone, could rob us of new experiences and new connections that can enrich our lives.
I have no answers here, just observations. I suspect each of us internally figures out the risks and benefits of travel/new experiences/new connections. What I find tolerable appears too much for my dear relative. And so, I’m practicing the art of letting go. I suspect that without my nagging, she and I will be happier going forward, but . . . I will still wish that her life could be fuller/richer with new experiences.
If you have suggestions/tips on how we can all move, however slowly, towards new connections/experiences, I would love to know! And I will be happy to share them in a future newsletter.
Best,
Cora
