The Chances of Gaining Enlightenment While You're Getting Older - BAD?

     When I was studying with Swamiji he said that to achieve enlightenment was only possible for a person who was younger than fifty.  I was rather affronted by this pronouncement.   "Does that mean that older people have no hope for enlightenment?  It seems wrong.  Surely an elderly person has a chance."
      Well, I have had to go back to Swamiji's statement in the years since I turned fifty and re-examine it carefully.  Human beings, in ancient days, did not live long;  our body is designed to work at its highest capacity until our forties.  Someone who lived beyond forty was extraordinarily healthy and lucky back then.  
       Now we live much longer lives than our forebears.   But, truth be told, when one hits fifty the process of decay truly begins.  The mind doesn't work as quickly, one's limbs don't obey as readily as they once did.  Little aches and pains come and go in various parts of the body, or sometimes they hang on and become chronic.  Fatigue sets in faster than in earlier times.  Sitting on a meditation pillow for a length of time can produce legs that fall asleep and sometimes cause the meditator to sleep too! 
     So, it seems that Swamiji was right after all.  An person older than forty has a hard time dealing with the rigors which spiritual practice demands. 
     Yet I still have my reservations about Swamiji's observation.  I think there are ways to come closer to God even with an aging, deteriorating body.
      Things that are done within, such as prayer and less strenuous forms of meditation, such as Lectio Divina  (I hope I spelled that right!) -- that is, when one reads a Bible verse or some other spiritual text and meditates on it --  are powerful tools.  Taking time away from people and the demands of life, i.e. practicing a real Sabbath, is an amazingly rewarding method of spiritual renewal.  A Sabbath should be without T.V., computer, chatting on the phone, spending money and various other daily distractions.  Focusing on spiritual reading, staying at home or taking a walk and meditating and praying during a Sabbath, and doing the Sabbath practice consistently, once a week, is very beneficial.  The Jews have it right -- if done seriously a Sabbath is a great method to get closer to the Creator of All Things.
       There is still hope for enlightenment at an advanced age.  The spiritual practices of the inner way, even though they may seem humble, are a good fit for those over fifty.