When I was in my early twenties I took a job with the US government in Washington, D.C. As I settled in and started getting to know my co-workers I noticed one fellow in particular, an "older man", probably at least 55, had a nice smile on his face, always greeted me cheerfully and seemed to be a quite happy person. As I got to know him I found out he had been an attorney in private practice but for some reason about which I did not inquire had given it up to work for the government for a lot less income (and no doubt a lot less stress). I asked him how he could be so happy having stepped down in status and income (not using those words) and he told me that when he was my age he had observed that older people fell into two groups, happy ones and unhappy ones, and that he had decided to join the happy group. I have never forgotten his revelation, am grateful for it and try to follow it in my life. I try to be cheerful, tolerant and accepting of others in every way: the young, the middle aged and the elderly. Many seniors have over the years become quite fixed in their opinions and beliefs. Some are essentially saying "Don't confuse me with the facts. I have already made up my mind." I treat that mindset as their problem and either ignore them or get away from them as soon as I can.
Since I slowed down myself workwise and started to travel, I have met and spent time with the locals in several different cultures, including areas which were bubbling with unrest such as Thailaind during their demonstrations and Egypt not long ago. I have found that almost everyone I talked to was a decent human being deep inside. They did live under different political systems, some of which were working fairly well and some of which were not. Most of them had accepted their lot in life and were reasonably content. Some had deep political convictions. Some did not. Some were quite happy such as the cheerful older coworker I was fortunate to encounter as a young man. Other were quite unhappy. Some were open to hearing about my beliefs. Others were not. That is probably the case everywhere, perhaps moreso among older people.
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