Article August 7, 2000 Issue

ADVANCING YEARS

"Senior moment"? Think again

"Ability doesn't have to deteriorate with years."

By Robert A. Johnson

Though it is often said with a chuckle, a "senior moment" usually refers to a temporary lapse of memory. It conveys the notion that forgetfulness for seniors is normal—an unavoidable part of the aging process. But who hasn't also heard of the child playing so hard that he forgets to come home on time? The teenager who forgets to clean his or her room? The adult who says "It just slipped my mind"?

It's customary to make excuses for the younger person's forgetfulness. Aren't seniors entitled to the same generous consideration that's given to the child at play or the absent-minded professor?

To automatically categorize someone as unavoidably forgetful denies his or her God-given origin as a child of God. The true identity of each one of us is in God, in Spirit, not in matter. The better way of thinking about those who forget, whatever their age, is to understand that God is the infinite and divine Mind, and that each one of us reflects and expresses the intelligence, wisdom, and alertness of this Mind.

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