As Medical Director of our hospital, I have come across many patients who suffer chronic ailments but who face the challenge with cheer and courage, accepting life as it comes and awaiting positive changes. There are two basic requirements for graceful aging — “serenity to accept the things we cannot change; courage to change the things we can; and wisdom to know the difference.” (From the Serenity Prayer)
My parents, Tulsi Das Kalra and Jamna Devi Kalra, gracefully aged and lived up to 80 years, striking a balance between the inevitability of ageing and doing what they could to remain vital and healthy as long as possible. Their attitude and lifestyle helped people struggling with chronic illnesses to overcome depression, anxiety, and hopelessness so they can feel a lot better. In spite of their own ailments and disabilities, as ardent social workers they put cheer in others' lives following the teachings of Bhagavad Gita as the dictum of their life. Father as Chairman played a vital role in building the hospital with unstinting efforts till he breathed his last along with his beloved wife who died only recently. An ideal couple understanding each other, they joined hands in whatever they ventured to do. To quote Benjamin Franklin, “Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.” That is what they did.