As you will see on this list, older people are the best. With age comes wisdom, and apparently for a lot of people, with age also comes happiness. According to one study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, the older we get, the better our mental health becomes. Rates of depression, anxiety, and stress were highest among participants in their 20s and 30s, and the oldest participants reported the highest levels of happiness, satisfaction and wellbeing. 

The study’s author, Dr. Dilip Jeste, a geriatric psychiatrist and directors of the Center on Healthy Aging at the University of California, San Diego, says that when we’re young, “There is constant peer pressure: you’re looking at others and always feeling bad that you’re not succeeding like some of them, and you feel like you have lots of choices but you’re not really making use of them.” But as we get older, perhaps we just stop worrying about that. The pressure is off, and we finally get to simply enjoy our lives.

Many of the individuals featured on this list are clearly making the most of their senior years. And while there is sometimes a stereotype that our youngest years are our prime time, that does not have to be true. Our retired years can be a great time to see the world, experiment with hobbies we haven’t had the time to nurture in recent years, socialize and spend time with our families. They can also be a great time to stop caring about what anybody else thinks.

While young people are often plagued with feeling pressure fit in, older individuals are likely to just accept who they are. They have realized that the opinions of others don’t matter, and they have learned how to embrace their true selves. Sure, ideally we would all come to that conclusion at a young age, but sometimes it can be hard to realize until we’ve been around the block for a few years. Then we can spend our final decades enjoying life and doing whatever we like without any fear of embarrassment or judgment from others. 

To gain some insight on why senior citizens are so special and must be cherished, we reached out to William Zee, one of the creators of We Love Our Granny, a site dedicated to seniors of every age. First, we asked William what inspired him to create the site. “We started weloveourgranny.com when our own mother became quite elderly,” he told Bored Panda. “As we searched for products and services that would help the very elderly live more comfortably, and, with a higher life enjoyment, we found there were literally tens of thousands of Americans who were in their twilight years who weren’t really enjoying life at all anymore.”

“This greatly saddened us,” William continued. “These are the people who devoted their lives to giving all of us a good life. Our goal?  We wanted to see what we could do, in any small way, to increase the well being of other elderly seniors. In very short order, we found, as a society, we generally do put seniors ‘out to pasture’. Even the young and vital ones.”

“Our goal soon became: Finding ways to make senior life happier and more fulfilling,” William explained. “Regardless of how old we may be. 60 or 100. We’re happy to report: From the wonderful emails we receive, we are making a difference.”

We then asked William why older individuals are so special. “The biggest asset we have as older people is experience,” he shared. “And, with decades of experience we usually acquire a very special gift: Much Greater Compassion. Except for the outright cranky ones (who may be suffering deep physical or mental pain), have you ever noticed that seniors smile at you more? Criticize you less? Have time for you? Listen to you more? Argue with you less? Praise your deeds (no matter how small) more. And, if whenever you’ve taken time to really sit and talk with seniors, have you noticed all the wonderful stories they have? This is why older people are so special.”

We also asked William if people often underestimate or don’t pay enough attention to senior citizens. “Definitely,” he told Bored Panda. “We are a youth oriented society, where youthful looks mean almost everything. So, as we age, we get less and less attention. Not because of who we’ve become, but because of how we look.”

“A very famous woman, whose name I unfortunately can not remember as I write this, once stated: ‘As a woman becomes older, she becomes invisible. Her youthful looks have gone, and most men will not even notice her. Old age is a very lonely place for a woman.’ What a tragic loss for those men.”

“We think women, even more than men, just get more beautiful with age,” William told Bored Panda. “It’s true. Laugh at me if you will. But, just take a moment and look in an older woman’s eyes. Look at how deeply she can see you. Look at all the love those eyes give you. The caring. The understanding. The support. Notice their tender and soft touch. And, also notice how they are asking you for nothing other than the time you are giving them. Young women, and men, are generally green fruit.”

When it comes to the best things William has learned from older family members throughout his life and from his own experiences, he shared, “At first life looks like an eternity. But, it passes in an instant. Whenever you can, without hurting others, do whatever makes you happy. No one on their death bed ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office.’ Be kind. To everyone. And, practice random acts of kindness.”

We also asked William if there were any misconceptions about older people that he wanted to dispel. “I have found that the greatest misconception most people have about elderly people is that they are finished living. Really enjoying life with others and doing things,” he shared. “I have found that as long as an elderly person has a clear mind and at least a somewhat able body, they want to enjoy each new day as much as anyone else,” William says. “In fact they usually look forward to each adventure even more because they usually are too well aware that there may not be that many left.”

“Did you know: They still want to dance? Even from a wheelchair? A movie out is still worth dressing up for? A dinner, or lunch out never gets tiring? Time in the park by a pond or lake is still Heavenly? Conversations with a bottle of wine, or as my friend Jack preferred, a gin and tonic, are always welcome? Did you know the queen even enjoyed more than one cocktail a day?”

“I used to have a dear friend named Christian,” William shared. “He was approaching 80. Alone most of the day. And, he seemed to look forward to nothing more than sharing a bottle of red wine in the backyard, eating sausages with his fingers, and talking. About anything!”

“He was very wealthy. He lived in a mansion in an exclusive neighborhood where I enjoyed taking my dog for walks,” William continued. “That was how we met. I lived in a tiny apartment at the time. He made no distinction. He adored my dog. He treated me like we were brothers. I could stop by his home any day at any time. His big charismatic smile was always there when I arrived. And, he was always happy to see me, share the contents of his wine cellar, hear whatever news I would bring, and tell me wonderful stories from his first home in Paris. My dear friend Christian still had a real zest for living!”

Finally, William told Bored Panda, “Enjoy your favorite seniors as much as you can. Really talk together. Do things together. Don’t let them slip away from you while they are still here. They will be gone all too soon. And, like myself, you will find you miss them terribly.”

We hope you’re enjoying this list of wholesome moments featuring seniors and that it’s reminding you to call up your parents or grandparents and ask them to grab lunch with you sometime soon. Keep upvoting the pics you find most heartwarming, and then let us know in the comments what the best life lessons you’ve learned from your elders are. And if you’re interested in hearing more wise words from William, be sure to check out We Love Our Granny right here.