They laugh at the sedentary life and continue to be productive. The contributors to The Courage to Grow Old are mainly writers, actors, scientists, economists, and teachers. I think one major difference is an increased need for, and use of, humor. We need more fun and games as we age. It is a way of both hiding sorrow and pain and helping ourselves and others support a bravery which may begin lagging under life s blows.
Faith is important too.
For many this is God. Well, here we are almost at the end, and we haven t even scratched the surface. In theater, the action ends, the houselights come up, the audience is cut off from the play. But the end of a life is more like the closing of a scrim, the intercession of a veil which allows a continuation of contact. The remembered words, actions, convictions of an individual are not severed from those who follow him.