72-Year-Old Ex Monk Says Don’t Worry About Getting Old

There are more critical things to do.

Who’s the ex-monk? That would be me.

At twenty-two years old, in 1973, I followed an Indian guru and moved into an ashram to work full-time in his organization. That meant taking vows of charity, poverty, and obedience.

During my ten years as a monk, I learned much about discipline, mental focus, hard work, and peacefully co-existing with others in tight quarters. I lived with very little and was quite happy, but the biggest lesson I learned is that satisfaction and contentment come from within us.

At thirty-three, I left the ashram, dead broke, found my way into corporate America, and started a family a few years later. For the next thirty years, I had a successful career in the leadership development business as a salesperson, consultant, and VP of sales.

Now, I’m 72 and enjoying my life like never before. I don’t worry about getting old — it’s happening whether I like it. It’s a colossal waste of energy to lament life’s natural process, try to reverse it, hide from it, or whine about it.

As much as I accept the fact that I can’t run, play tennis, or hike like I did when I was fifty, I still want to take good care of myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I have to readjust to what’s within my reach.

Coco Chanel, Albert Camus, George Orwell, and many others allegedly said you get the face you deserve.

I say you get the life you deserve.

The habits, patterns, beliefs, and attitudes we accumulate throughout youth into midlife shape us as we age. However, it’s never too late to change. Let me explain.

Given I was a monk in my twenties, I had a lot of catching up to do in my thirties and forties — I left the ashram spiritually rich but emotionally and psychologically poor. It took lots of therapy and years of inner work to heal some of my wounds.

When I hit fifty, I went off the rails for a while — my marriage disintegrated, and I found myself on the long end of child support and alimony with a major case of financial and emotional stress. To alleviate some of the pain, I hastily rushed into a second marriage that lasted eight years until I realized it was the wrong thing.

So, at sixty-five years old, I pulled the plug with no plan and began transforming my life from mediocrity to a much fuller and richer one.

The key was changing my mindset and rebuilding my spiritual practice.

I’d drifted away during all the chaos and had been thinking small, believing I couldn’t have the life I wanted. Until I was able to break free from my limiting beliefs through prayer and a hefty dose of help from the Universe, I was stuck in “things are good enough.”

When I freed myself from myself, I reclaimed my power, deepened my spiritual practice, rewired my brain, and began a new life centered around my spiritual practice, love, well-being, and abundance.

I worked from the inside out. I had to reconnect with my soul. Without that, I couldn’t be me.

I journaled, changed my diet, took walks by the ocean, listened to wisdom teachers, prayed, and wrote down my intentions for what I wanted to happen. That was six years ago. I looked at my journal from that time. You know what? Virtually everything I wrote down has manifested.

This brings me to the most important thing you can do as you get older — go within.

Let me repeat it — go within.

Our culture tells us we’ll find beauty and happiness by looking younger. It’s all backward. Unless you’re shining from the inside, you aren’t going to look younger, no matter how much you dye your hair or try to look hip.

True beauty is when you are lit up from the inside.

It’s time to listen more to your intuition, trust your spirit more, let go of any resistance to what’s happening to you, and get to know the softer part of yourself.

Befriend yourself — your authentic self.

My pathway inside has been meditation — something I’ve done my entire adult life. If meditation isn’t your thing, then observe your thoughts. Feed the good ones. Starve the bad ones. Keep fear out of your life along with its close friends, regret, bitterness, and guilt. They’re all bad juju, eating away at your spirit and diminishing your energy.

Practice gratitude. Be kind and respectful. Don’t allow negative energy into your body. Do the right thing, always. Keep your psyche clean.

So, yes, worrying about getting older is a waste of time. Taking care of yourself isn’t.

Keep your inner lamp lit, and you’ll be just fine.

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