Music & the Spoken Word: 2 Keys for Happiness—No Matter How Old You Are
Contributed By The Tabernacle Choir
Two keys to happiness as individuals age are a good sense of humor and willingness to forgive. Photo by Jaddy Liu.
Article Highlights
- A good sense of humor lifts perspective.
- Forgiveness heals the heavy heart.
“We can see the advancing years as increasing opportunities to open our hearts, look for the humor in life, and strengthen our relationships with forgiveness and love.”
Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Lloyd Newell each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This message was given September 22, 2019.
Despite the difficulties that come with getting older, we all hope we live long enough to experience them. But we also hope, of course, to find plenty of peace and comfort as well. According to one expert who has written about happiness in the retirement years, two key attributes are essential—in old age or any season of life: a good sense of humor and a willingness to forgive (see Maryanne Vandervelde, “Retirement for Two,” 2004, cited in Glenn Ruffenach, “When Couples Have Different Attitudes about Aging,” Wall Street Journal, Aug. 1, 2019, wsj.com).
A good sense of humor lifts perspective. When life gets us down, when our bodies are aging, when things don’t go the way we hoped and we feel stuck, nothing lifts the gloom quite like a good laugh. One aging couple noticed that it helps to stop and enjoy the lighter side of life. They try to find something to smile about each day: a joke, a humorous story, even their own mishaps. Somehow their circumstances don’t seem quite so bad when they take a minute to laugh.
Forgiveness can have a similar power in our lives. Like humor, forgiveness heals the heavy heart. As offenses pile up into the golden years, nothing clears the air like a healthy dose of forgiveness. Some choose to nurse grudges and polish up old put-downs, but what a burden that is to carry throughout our lives! Forgiveness feels so much better. As the retirement expert warned, “Forgiveness may not come easily after many years of disappointments or old grudges within a relationship. . . . But ‘practice makes perfect.’” One older woman decided to adopt this attitude toward her husband, who seemed to always forget their anniversary. She could have become resentful, assuming that he was insensitive and uncaring, but instead she decided to respond with love and forgiveness, and even a little humor, giving him good-natured reminders as the anniversary approached. With forgiveness and humor, she saw her husband in a more compassionate light, and their love grew.
Moving along in years doesn’t mean we have to be set in our ways and patterns of interaction. We can see the advancing years as increasing opportunities to open our hearts, look for the humor in life, and strengthen our relationships with forgiveness and love.
Tuning in . . .
The Music & the Spoken Word broadcast is available on KSL-TV, KSL radio 1160 AM/102.7 FM, ksl.com, KSL X-Stream, BYUtv, BYUradio, BYUtv International, CBS radio network, DISH Network, DIRECTV, SiriusXM radio (channel 143), and The Tabernacle Choir’s website and YouTube channel. The program is aired live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on many of these outlets. Look up broadcast information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.org.
