"Old Dogs And New Tricks!"

"Wisdom is wasted on the old!" I just read the preceding thought and wondered what the author had in mind. It reminded me a bit of a saying that I remember seeing on the side of my Dad's scotch tape holder. It read, "Too soon old and too late smart!" I guess that's about the same thing, isn't it?



As I tried to think through both statements, I came up with only one conclusion. They are both saying that the young need the wisdom of the old, but wisdom is wasted on the old because they won't change their minds or lives, even if change is needed. Hmmmm? I guess that is assuming that young folk would change their minds and lives if shown that change would make their lives more desirable. Is this conclusion assuming things that are basically not true?



Remember hearing, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks?" I am wondering again if that adage is true! How old does a dog have to be before he cannot be trained anew? What determines if such training will be useless? Even if it takes an old dog a bit longer to learn a new "trick," does that mean we should not make the effort to improve his life? What if the old dog resists discovering new "tricks," are we to cease making the effort? I wonder!



There is one thing for sure, the above adages do not apply to humankind. Period. I have seen folk who were well into the sunset of their lives make drastic changes in their lifestyles. They have learned to eat well, exercise more, and live happier even after years of missing all three. I have, also, seen young flexible teenagers who did not change even when shown their lifestyles were detrimental physically, mentally and spiritually. Well, there goes the above theories!



What does that mean for those of us who are trying to help people have healthier, happier, and more contented lives? It means, if you are working with "old dogs," you might want to give up a bit sooner, but if you are reaching out to "young and old people," you never, never give up!



What do YOU think?