Recently I watched the series “A.B.C. Murders” on Amazon Prime. It is based on the book of the same name written by Agatha Christie. Now, when I was in junior high and high school, I read as many Agatha Christie novels as I could get. So when I saw that the series featured one of my favorite Christie characters, Detective Hercule Poirot, I was eager to watch it. It was an interesting adaptation – it featured an elderly Poirot dealing with his own aging process in the midst of feeling dismissed and forgotten. On a side note – I really enjoyed the series! But more importantly, it really started me thinking on how we treat the elderly.
There seems to be a correlation between happiness and treatment of the elderly. All of the top ten “Happiest Countries in the World” (as ranked by Forbes) rate in the top 17 countries in the world for the treatment of the elderly (as listed on the 2015 Global Rankings AgeWatch List.) Are people happier when the elderly are treated well? Or are the elderly treated well in places that people are happier? It would probably be difficult to determine which came first, but I think it is safe to say that there is a strong connection. How about we leave nothing to chance and we do a few things that seem to make a difference? Why not intentionally go out of our way and show kindness and respect to those who are older than us? Why not look for ways to support ministries and programs that benefit the elderly? At the same time, why don’t we choose happiness each morning. How about determining our own attitudes and not let them be handed to us by the circumstances or people around us? We can decide each and every morning that we are going to live in joy – expressing gratitude, being kind to ourselves, and treating others the way we want to be treated. If we will be good to ourselves and to others, and if we will go out of our way to show respect and appreciation for anyone older than us – it will be a gift for all creation.
