Brains get better with age, says filmaker Bob Bellinoff.
At age 70, Bellinoff is thinking about being an artist, he writes in seniorplanet.com.
Bellinoff for 46 years made television commercials, short films that met the particular demands of big clients. But he always wanted to use his craft to make pure art. "Something original," he writes. "Something driven by an irrational vision. I mean something almost nuts – but that works. Something aesthetically pleasing and created with an audience in mind but, crucially, that audience is not a marketplace or client."
Bellinoff thinks he'll have both the time to seek truth and the brain juice.
First, in terms of time, he has a point. The last 50 years of gerontology has been largely focused on disease and decline. But people are living longer, well into their 80s and 90s. For most Baby Boomers, that means, at age 70, they have 20 or 30 years to do something they really want to do.
Second, Bellinoff believes, and research supports his belief, that the aging brain actually improves.
According to Dr. Sherwin B Nuland, author of The Art of Aging, brain synapses in the aging brain become more flexible, stronger and more effective.
Bellinoff agrees and he thinks as we age our experience lets us begin to see the big picture. We have perspective and we save time spinning our wheels. With patience, we get more done.
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed retirees and found that most loved their retirement. They found most satisfaction among those who were doing thing they always wanted to do but for which they had no time in the past.
