Having a spiritual foundation in the teachings of the Buddha helps to overcome the emotional and physical challenges of aging. A trained mind can separate between mind and matter. The difficulty is knowing how to do that. The nature of the mind is such that it can focus on only one thing at a time. When you focus your mind on the task in front of you, the pain seems to fade into the background. For instance, if I am talking to someone, my mind is engaged in the conversation. The pain is still there, but the mind is not taking in that information, so the pain diminishes. With awareness I can clearly see that the pain is in my feet, not in my mind. Coping with the challenges of aging becomes much easier when we practice the dharma.
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Bhikkhuni Dhammananda, quoted in This Fresh Existence: Heart Teachings from Bhikkhuni Dhammananda by Cindy Rasicot (Windhorse Publications, 2024).