It is Never too Late to Go for Your Dream
Do, Did, Done. New Beginnings For The Older You!
When the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, made plans to embark on his North Polar expedition, he needed a vessel he could trust. The ship that came to mind was FRAM, the first Norwegian ship that had been built specifically for polar research. Fram, meaning forward and ahead in Norwegian, was built in my hometown Larvik by Colin Archer, a famed naval architect and shipyard owner. The ship Amundsen needed to carry out his dream had to be strong enough to handle the tremendous pressure of the pack ice in the Polar Sea.
Fram had lived up to her expectation and had already proved herself through two prior polar expeditions. But she was old now. Having been exposed to rough waters, crushing Arctic drift ice and violent ocean and weather conditions, her previous two voyages had taken a toll. At about 16 years of age, Fram was now laying at the Naval dockyard in Horten, Norway. She was out of commission and considered old, damaged, and decayed.
“Getting old is like climbing a mountain. You get a little out of breath, but the view is much better.”
— Ingrid Bergman
How many millions of adults over age 65 are considered old, damaged, and decayed? In a world where youth is highly favored, older adults are often undervalued, despite their experiences and wisdom. There is no shortage of older adults. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2020 there were approximately 727 million adults, aged 65 and older, living in the world. That number is expected to more than double by 2050, the year I turn 100.
“The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.”
— Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
An analogy between a ship and a person is not as ludicrous as you may think. As Fram was the vessel carrying polar explorers to their destination, our body is the vessel that carries us through life. Unlike Fram, besides the body, we also have a mind. The mind is a treasure chest. With help from the brain, the mind houses our history and thoughts. Because we are not our thoughts, but the observer, we can navigate those thoughts any which way we want. As humans, we are composed of a body, a mind, and a spirit. The spirit is the essence of who we are. Our essence sets us apart from the 8 billion Earthlings that we share the world with. While we are remarkably different, the spirit also connects us with the Universal oneness.
“It is never too late- never too late to start over, never too late to be happy.”
- Jane Fonda
Roald Amundsen placed his bet on Fram, based on her past performance. She got a good overhaul at the shipyard in Horten. Her old steam engine was changed and replaced with a modern diesel engine, the right rig was replaced, and a new deck house was built. With minor and major repairs, Fram was brought out of retirement and prepared for an encore voyage. Not only did she enable Roald Amundsen to realize his dream, Fram roared above all expectations. Despite her age, her performance and Amundsen’s polar team would one day be honored with a world class standing ovation.
“You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.”
- George Burns
Around, and after age 65, most of us need minor or major repairs. Besides replacing hips and knees, keeping bones intact, and minding neuro plasticity, we also have to keep an eye on our cardiovascular system. Cardiovascular is a word that refers to the heart and the blood vessels. It is about the circulation that brings food and oxygen to the heart, the brain, and other organs. The World Health Organization (WHO), reports that Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the world. In the US alone, 928,741 deaths were attributed to CVD in the year 2020, according to data from the American Heart Association (AHA).
“On the average someone in the U.S. dies of CVD every 34 seconds.2544 US deaths from CVD every day, based on 2020 data”.AHA
We don’t want that, at any age. High blood pressure, high blood sugars, high cholesterol, obesity, and cigarette smoking are some of the risk factors that can lead to CVD and cause a heart attack or a stroke. These are the risk factors that we can do something about. Changing a behavior is not about willpower, but about focusing in on our humanity and fully see ourselves as the wonder of who we are. The body, the mind, and the spirit are all wrapped up into one healthy and happy human being that we are meant to be. We must tune into what we want and what is meaningful for us, regardless of what someone else might think. This I call Purpose Driven Health. The good news is that even if you do have risk factors or some form of CVD, you are not doomed to die with regrets from not realizing your dreams and goals. You can take small, daily steps towards what you want.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”
- Dr. Seuss
Like Fram could be repaired and fulfill her highest potential, so can we. Age does not have to define us. Because we have a body and a mind and a spirit, we can set course and navigate our lives in the direction of our dreams. If you are getting into the Autumn of your life, and you are unable to figure out how to get healthy, write the book, double your income, or start a business, fear not, there is still time. It is never too late.
At the age of 72, I decided to start my own business. “Totally insane”, said some people. But, rather than getting to the end of the line with a bag full of regrets, I bet on myself. Based on my experience as a critical care nurse, meditation practice, exellent health, profound sense of happiness, and a relentless desire to help my contemporaries, I went all in. I finally got it together.
The benefit to growing older is that our knowledge base is huge, based on years of learning and personal experience. I could no longer watch adults my age, and younger, suffer and die from CVD conditions that can be prevented. My own father died from a heart attack at age 41, and my mother suffered a debilitating stroke at age 64. None of them had a chance to fully realize themselves. They died with the music in them.
“Don’t die with the music still in you.”
-Wayne Dyer
I have created a learning and living program called Purpose Driven Health. It is based on the premise that we become the best version of our higher self. By focusing on what we want to be, do, and have, we can create a plan on how to best go about it. Do the initial assessment and decide what outcome is best suited for the body, the mind, and the spirit. All three aspects are essential and must be included. Embrace the fact that you already are uniquely awesome, your age is just right, and you have what it takes to make your dreams come true.
Use a journal, and make a list of your three priority goals. Transport your ideas from your head and into the world. That is how dreams become goals, and how thoughts become things. See how each goal relates to the body, the mind, and the spirit.Because we are more than the sum of our parts, health and happiness cannot exist without considering all three.
The body is your operating system. It is the house in which we live. The body is built from more than 30 trillion cells. Every cell has a life of its own. Every cell needs nutrients, oxygen, water, and good intentions in order to thrive. The soundness of the cells, equals the soundness of your body. We mesure how well we are doing by how we feel, and by monitoring biomarkers. Biomarkers include your blood pressure,blood sugar level, cholesterol levels, and a C reactive protein level. The latter is indicative of the level of inflammation in your body.
The mind is your control station, where your thoughts and emotions reside. More than 50–60,000 thoughts roam our mind daily. These thoughts are often repetitive and negative. By learning to harness the power of your mind with meditation, you will learn that you are not your thoughts. You are the observer of the thoughts, and you decide what thoughts are productive and serve your intention to grow. You are responsible for weeding out the thoughts that are detrimental to your health and well being. If you want to change the direction of your life, change your thoughts.
The spirit is the essence of who you are. This essence sets you apart from your fellow citizens of the world. Your abilities and experiences cannot be matched with anyone else. It is also what connects you to the Universal community and what gives life meaning. Take a deep dive into the deepest aspect of your being, and discover your attributes and your unique abilities. Discover what you enjoy doing, what you are made for, and what you can possibly teach and share with the rest of us. This discovery has the potential to add enormous meaning to your daily life.
When Roald Amundsen first made plans to take Fram and his team on a polar exploration, he first had the North and the Arctic ocean in mind. During the preparation, however, news broke that another explorer had reached the North Pole. Immediately, Amundsen changed his mind. Without telling his team, and only confiding in his brother, he decided to head for the South Pole. In the undiscovered land of snow and ice, no man had ever set foot. But make no mistake, Amundsen was keenly aware that a British Antarctic Expedition, headed by Captain Robert F. Scott , was headed for the South Pole.
“The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.”
— Henry Ford
At a deep, personal level, we all know what we want to be, do, and have. Often time, indecision and self doubt come from lack of trusting our intuition. When you know what you want, and trust in the process, you have to open your heart and mind to embrace your dreams. For me, promoting cardiovascular health was always on my agenda. The process on how to do it changed according to what was happening in the environment.
Amundsen and his team did reach the South Pole. On December 14, 1911, along with four other members of his expedition, Amundsen placed his stake with the Norwegian flag and the flag of Fram. Their camp, the tent, he named Polheim, meaning “home of the pole.” Captain Scott and his team arrived at the South Pole and found the Norwegian stake about a month later. Sadly, they never made it back home to England. But the astonishing news of the Norwegian team discovering and reaching the South Pole was celebrated around the world.
Decide on three daily goals. List them in your journal and create mini tasks on how to reach them. Nourish your body, direct your thoughts towards your goals, connect to your spirit, and trust the process.
Be flexible and adjust tasks according to the environment. Stay with your plans and trust your inner knowing that you will eventually get there. Go easy on yourself when you stumble and fall. We all do. At times getting up is harder. There are days when I am tired and want to stay down. But then I remember that two steps forward and one step backward will still move me ahead. I Think Fram; ahead and forward.
Keep your journal handy. Create a daily routine and monitor your ongoing progress, while you enjoy and celebrate small winnings. Imagine your future self, staking and taking ownership of the goal. This is your life. At the end of the day, it is the journey that counts.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails by daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
Fram is now resting victoriously in her own Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway. People from all over the world come to see her, trying to imagine the trials and tribulations of the expedition that Fram and Amundsen and their team endured during the high, turbulent seas of ice and frost towards the South Pole. She is resting on her laurels, a deed and a life well earned.
🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that everyone has an attribute to share with others. Promoting cardiovascular health and helping adults over age 65 is her contribution. When we don’t let age define us, but rather empower us to grow, we discover health and happiness are byproducts of who we are.
Annelie is the author of the book, Say Yes to A Better Life, available at Amazon.
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