Dr Bob Rich was born in Hungary then shoved past the ‘Iron Curtain’ as a child in the 1950s and ended up living in Australia. He’s since tried to be an Olympic distance runner, become a nurse, gotten a PHD in Psychology and is presently an author. We asked him for his thoughts on being older than 70. 

“We are here as students: caterpillars munching on the green leaves of experience, until we graduate as butterflies.”

Q: Hi Bob, thank you so much for being here with us. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how old you are now?

A: You can be entertained, informed, inspired and probably outraged while finding out about me at my blog, Bobbing Around.

As I say there, I have retired from 5 different occupations so far. Still going strong as a writer with 18 books published, an editor, and most important as a Professional Grandfather. This means two kinds of activities:
1. Striving for a survivable future and one worth surviving in for all my grandchildren (any person born after 1993 qualifies as my grandchild, anywhere on the planet).
2. Healing with words. Hundreds of people, mostly young, now live better lives because of our email exchanges. This is the gift that makes me resist wanting to jump off the planet when I look around at the criminal idiocy that’s been destroying everything.

Oh, I have just attained the age of the magical number 77.

How is your body different from what it was like at age 60?

10 years younger.

At that time, I was in unremitting 7 to 8 /10 pain that had gone on for some years. Then, (duh!) I had an X-ray done, and there was a stalactite growing in my right hip joint. Everything improved when I got a new hip installed.

Mind you, that pain was useful, because it got me to deepen my meditation practice. If any of you readers experience chronic pain, let me tell you, the mindfulness approach works. I describe it in detail in my book on cancer, or look up “Jon Kabatt-Zinn” who is one of my heroes.

What brings you joy these days?  

A week ago, a young woman sent me a desperate email. Guilt and shame had torn her apart. Now she is working her way through my book on depression and has a positive view of herself and her world.

And yesterday, when I was doing my exercises, I improved from 62 to 65 pushups.

Which item, bought or received in the past year, has been most useful to you?

I don’t go for stuff. I could live in a cave in the desert (as long as it had internet connection and room service).

If I need something new, I’ll see if I can redefine the need into a want I can satisfy some other way. My wife and I have deliberately lived below the Australian poverty level since 1978. If you think that idiotic, please read my essay, “How to change the world”. Well, read it anyway.

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What were you like as a young man? How have you changed since?

I didn’t know it, but I was terribly depressed: just knew that I was ugly, and stupid, and no one could love me, and “if there is a wrong way of doing something, or even if there isn’t, I’ll do it that way first.” I also unknowingly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

I started doing therapy on myself at 21 years of age, though I didn’t realise I was doing that. Then for 20 years, I had depression under control. And at 43, I completely defeated it. Please read “The onion and the pearl”, a recent blog post that explains this.

Which 3 people or things in your life are most important to you right now? 

Only 3? There is my family, starting with wife, kids, grandkids, great-grandkids.

Second are the children of my imagination: people who move into my computer, then come alive and dictate to me as I write fiction. One of them is the hero of a series, “The Doom Healer”. I’m working on the 5th volume when the world outside my computer allows me, while seeking a publisher wise enough to realise my young man will match Harry Potter.

Third is my environmental and humanitarian campaigning.

Is status important beyond age 70? What about wealth, knowledge acquisition, romance, birthdays and friendships? 

I’ve never worried about status. As a young man, I realised that wealth can cost more than it’s worth. This is one of the things I’ve described in my novel, “Ascending Spiral”. It’s a good day when I learn something new: I am a learning addict. Romance? My wife would be VERY upset with me. Every day is a birthday. There is only NOW. The past is history, the future is a mystery. I give you a PRESENT.

What regrets do you have?

Being a human, on planet Earth. I explain this here.

What do you think those not yet 70 should be doing while they still can?

Before or after 70, realise that life has meaning. We are here as students: caterpillars munching on the green leaves of experience, until we graduate as butterflies. That’s when we learn the ultimate Lesson, which has been revealed by Confucius, the Buddha, Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and lots of others. Read Corinthians 13. Whether we realise it or not, all of us are apprentice Buddhas.

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Is there anybody you presently look up to, who you would like to learn from?

The Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Malala, Greta Thunberg, Leonardo di Caprio, the cat who owns my household, and every lovely baby I encounter.

Lastly, do you think about death? And if so, what do you think of it? 

Death doesn’t bother me. I often part with people by saying, “Have a good life!” If they return the wish, I explain that I already have, thank you.

If I die today, fine. I have firm theories (based on what evidence is available) about what happens after death, and there is only one way of finding out if they are correct, right? And if I live another 20 years, fine.

Death is not the end of a book, but the end of a chapter. Here is a little poem I wrote about it to console a grieving husband:

She will return.
Having lived the joys and agonies,
ecstasies and sorrows of this life—
to do better the next time around.
Will her passing make you a better person,
as her presence did, by your side?
Her school is in recess for now,
for she has passed, though our examination is still to come.
She will return.

Bob believes the planet is in its 6th major extinction event and is presently working to reduce and delay disaster while simultaneously promoting compassion, decency and cooperation through fiction. You can read more about him at his blog, bobrich18.wordpress.com, or chat with him using the comment box below (“I’ll be delighted to have a conversation with anyone who leaves a comment. After all, why should they take it with them?”). 

If you would like to share your thoughts on being the age you are, do let us know here. Or read what it’s like to be a different age here. 

You may also be interested in:
What It’s Like Being Older Than 60
What It’s Like Being Older Than 40

Photographs courtesy and copyright of Dr Bob Rich. Interviewer: Sy
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