I've edited the original text, and I believe it's good advice for those of us in our golden years:
1. Use and enjoy the money you've saved. Don’t save it for those who won't appreciate the sacrifices you've made to earn it. Nothing is more dangerous than children with big ideas for your hard-earned money. And be prudent with your investments. An investment may seem fool-proof, but it may be risky and have a long-delayed payoff. Risky investments come with anxiety, and this is a time for you to enjoy an anxiety-free life.
2. Don't worry about your children's and grandchildren's financial situation, and don’t feel bad about spending your money on yourself. You've given them life, protection, food, shelter, an education, financial and emotional support and wonderful experiences. Now it's their responsibility to earn their own way in life.
3. Maintain a healthy lifestyle while avoiding extreme physical exertion. Enjoy moderate exercise like walking every day, eat well and get your sleep. It becomes easier to get sick, and harder to stay healthy. That is why you need to keep yourself in good shape and be aware of your medical and physical needs. Keep in touch with your doctor, even when you’re feeling well. The three great negatives in life are to be old, poor and sick. We all grow old, we may not be wealthy, but we can choose to be healthy.
4. Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other and yourself. The goal is to enjoy your money with your partner. One day one of you will pass on, and the money will provide little pleasure to the other. So enjoy it now together. Remember the adage: Don't settle for what you know you can get; go for what you really want.
5. Don’t stress over the little things in life. You’ve overcome a great deal, and you have both good and bad memories, but the important time is the present. Don’t let memories of past adversities weigh you down, and don’t let dreams of the unknowable future paralyze you. Enjoy the present and go boldly and confidently into the future.
6. Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbor and remember that we're not old as long as we have love in our lives.
7. Be proud of yourself, both inside and out. Go regularly to your physician, dermatologist, dentist, hair stylist and beauty salon. Use your favorite hair products, lotions and perfumes. When you maintain your outer beauty, it increases your inner strength and self-esteem.
8. Don’t lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style. There’s nothing sillier than a mature adult trying to wear the current teenage fashion fad. You’ve developed your own sense of what looks good on you – keep it and be proud of it. It’s part of who you are.
9. Stay up-to-date. Read newspapers, watch the news. Go online and read what people are saying. Use email and social networks. Go to your school reunions. You’ll be surprised at the new friends you'll make and the old friends you'll reconnect with. Keeping in touch with what is going on and with the people you've enjoyed in your life is important at any age.
10. Respect the younger generation and their opinions. They may not have the same ideals as you, but they are the future, and will take the world in their direction. Give advice when it's asked for, avoid criticism, and gently remind them that yesterday’s wisdom may still be applicable today.
11. Avoid using the phrase in my time. Your time is now. As long as you’re alive, you're part of this time. You may have been younger, but you're still you now, having fun and enjoying life.
12. Some people embrace their golden years, while others become bitter and surly. Life is too short to waste your days on the latter. Spend your time with positive, cheerful people. It’ll rub off on you, and your days will seem that much better. Spending your time with bitter people will make you feel older, and you'll be harder to be around.
13. If you have a choice, don't succumb to the temptation to live with your children or grandchildren. While being surrounded by family sounds great, we all need our privacy. They need theirs and you need yours. If you’ve lost your partner, find someone to move in with you and help you out. Even then, do it only if you feel you really need the help or do not want to live alone.
14. Don’t abandon your hobbies. If you don’t have any, make new ones. You can travel, hike, cook, read, dance, do yoga or tai chi, even learn to meditate. You can adopt a cat or a dog, grow a garden, play cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, golf. You can paint, volunteer or just begin a collection. Find something you like doing, and spend some real time having fun with it.
15. Even if you don’t feel like it, try to accept invitations. Baptisms, graduations, birthdays, weddings, conferences. Get out of the house, meet people you haven’t seen in a while, experience something new, or something old. But don’t get upset when you’re not invited. Some events are limited by resources, and not everyone can be accommodated. The important thing is to get out of the house from time to time. Go to theater plays, concerts, movies, museums, flower gardens, art exhibits, car shows, dog shows, horse shows, state and county fairs. Get out there and embrace life.
16. Become a true conversationalist; listen more and talk less. Before you speak, ask yourself how you could phrase it so it's really of value to the other person. If you bore people with your personal history, it may only reduce their desire to listen to you, so don’t begin a long story unless you're asked to. Speak courteously and try not to complain or criticize. Accept situations as they are; everyone is going through the same things, and people have a low tolerance for complaints. Remember the saying: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
17. Pain is as much a part of life as happiness. As C.S. Lewis said: The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal. Try not to dwell on the pain but accept it as a part of the cycle of life we're all experiencing. Try to minimize it in your mind. It's not who you are, just something that life has handed you. If it becomes your entire focus, you'll lose sight of the person you're meant to be.
18. If you’ve been offended by someone, forgive them. If you’ve offended someone, apologize. Don’t nurse resentment; don't carry it around with you. It only serves to make you bitter and old. It doesn’t matter who was right. A wise person once said: Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. It will eat away at you and can do real physical damage, like a heart attack. Forgive them, forget them and move on with your own life.
19. If you have strong spiritual beliefs, live them, but don’t waste time trying to proselytize others. They will make their own choices no matter what you tell them, and it will only bring you frustration. Be a living example to others. If you're genuinely curious, ask them: to what great spiritual tradition do you belong? Listen courteously to their answer, and then move the conversation on.
20. Laugh. Someone once said: laughter is the best medicine. Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You've managed to have a long, full life. Many never get to this age, never get to experience a full life. But you have. So try to find the humor in your situation.
21. Take no notice of what others say about you or of what they might be thinking. Remember the old saying: If we knew how rarely people think about us, we wouldn't worry about what they think of us. Have pride in yourself and what you’ve achieved. Other people have no idea about your history, your memories and the life you’ve lived so far. There’s still much to be written, so get busy writing and don’t waste time thinking about what others might think. Now is the time to be at rest, at peace and as happy as you can be!
