Thus spake Aristotle

Without meaningful work to do, there are signs of increasing boredom among those too young to retire: growing number of divorces among older couples and the fact that over half of the buyers of Harley motorcycles now are 45 or over. Aristotle offers a more positive alternative: keeping your brain alive. There are numerous ways that can be done at any age, some quite simple. A 2004 National Endowment for the Arts report demonstrated that people who read regularly are many times more likely than nonreaders to attend museums, plays, concerts, and sports events, and to participate in charity and volunteer activities. In sum, nonreaders tend to lead passive lives in front of televisions, while readers – regardless of age, gender, race or income – are more likely to be actively engaged in their communities and in pursuit of good life. As Aristotle points out, people who make healthy pursuit of the good life. As Aristotle points out, people who make healthy choices in one part of their lives tend to do so in other parts. Virtue is a contagion that spreads to all aspects of our being.

In sum, Aristotle’s ancient ideas seem to have become ever-more relevant in recent years; his emphasis on the need for continual renewal is almost trendy. His belief that no humans ever reach their full capacity to learn, and that they all should be engaged in learning up to the moment of their passing, are now tenets of conventional wisdom. There is even some science to back his observations: we may be able to postpone the effects of aging. Gerontologists say that older people continue to learn thoroughout the course of their lives, and those who remain actively engaged in continual development of their many capabilities, feel and act younger than those who abandon the pleasure of seeking self-actualization. Because people today who are in their sixties and seventies have many good innings ahead of them, what better use is there for their time than to follow Aristotle’s advice and learn and do the things they missed in their youth? ~ Page 310