Two articles this past week struck a chord for me. Both featured people much older than I am who are living life well. Makes me think.

ABQJournal Online » Climber Still Rocks at 95 By Ryan Boetel / The Daily Times on Thu, Sep 27, 2012

[T]o celebrate his 95th birthday on Monday, John Rusen reached the top of the 30-foot climbing wall at the San Juan College Health and Human Performance Center.

Rusen has a 5-year-old tradition of climbing to the top of the climbing wall for his birthday.

“I was a little rusty,” he said after his climb. “It was a little bit harder up there than it used to be. But that comes with age, I guess.”

Rusen said he’s been fascinated with rocks and climbing since childhood. He’s summited several 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado and started technical rock climbing more than 40 years ago…. [mjh: when he was just a few years younger than I am now]

Rusen said he works every day to keep his mind and wiry muscles in shape. He takes his dog for a walk each morning, golfs twice a week, even in winter, chops wood, dances, hikes and skis.

“I don’t do structured exercises, but I do something every day,” he said. “I have a yellow Labrador and she insists I go walking every morning. That gets me ready for the day.”

A retired engineer for Schlumberger, Rusen said he reads two books a week and takes courses at San Juan College to work out his mind.

He’s currently enrolled in a mineralogy course.

“My idea is that you have to keep learning,” he said. “You’re dying unless you’re growing and you’re growing when you’re learning.”

ABQJournal Online » Climber Still Rocks at 95

A Candid Conversation With Sandra Day O’Connor: ‘I Can Still Make a Difference’ | Parade.com by David Gergen

Today at 82, [Sandra Day O’Connor] hasn’t changed a bit. Slender and fit, she still has an adventuresome spirit—the same confidence and drive that propelled her from the high desert to the highest court in the land. …

By this stage in life, most people would put their feet up and say, “I’ve had a good run. Now I’m going to rest and enjoy.” But you—
I had a good life, and the reason it was a good life is because I stayed busy doing the things that mattered to me. If I stopped doing that, I think my whole life would disintegrate. I want to feel like, to the extent that I’m able to, I can still make a difference.

A Candid Conversation With Sandra Day O’Connor: ‘I Can Still Make a Difference’ | Parade.com