So happiness in old age is " letting go " ? Interesting excerpt here. But don't let go of your MIND !

 " In fact, the happiness of old age is a good illustration of the fallacy of our culture's normal view of happiness. We fear old age because we see it as a process of loss, of having to let go of things which we depend on for our well-being. But it's this very process which actually causes the well-being of our later years.


In old age, a large number of the psychological attachments which normally support our sense of identity fall away. One of the major ones is the attachment to hopes and ambitions. At the end of their working lives, knowing that they may not have many years left, old people stop imagining alternative futures for themselves. They stop striving to become something else, and begin to accept themselves and their lives as they are. Rather than living for the future, they become more present-centred. In addition, they're likely to lose their attachment to their appearance, to become free of the pressure to ‘look good' and to stop using their looks as a way of seeking affirmation. They're also forced to give up their attachment to our careers, along with the status and identity they gave. And now that their children have left home, they're forced to give up their role as parent-carers too. "