Perceiving Old Age

Unfortunately Old Age has now become a prevalent social problem in our society. It is strange no one wants to grow old but every one want to live long. In our modern society, where money is the scale of everything, the old age people are measured as an economic liability and a social burden. Old age is observed as an ineluctable, undesirable, problem-ridden stage of life that we all are compelled to live, marking time until our final exit from life itself. Many people get extremely fearful when they become old. Distinguishing old age with fear is in fact a rather recent phenomenon. It seems to intensify as each day passes and the world become more difficult and less comprehensible.

Old age is a stage of life, where one needs to learn certain things afresh and get hold of new skills, mind-sets and socialization norms. In this lens, we present some useful information that would be of use to our senior citizens and also for the one who care for them.

 Grow Old With Me - The Best is Yet to be

During one's adult years one is diligent thinking of others, caring for others, working for others, earning for others. Whether or not one marries, has children, lives in a family - one lives amongst people. But after a life time of it one suddenly faces days and years of isolation and little to do. Now solitude may be a good place to visit but it is not such a good place to verbally express in. Although no man is an island, modern society more often than not forces the old person to live like one and although Simon and Garfunkel tell us that islands never cry, human islands do. Sometimes one is lucky to have one's most proximate companion in life (which a spouse has become by this time) helping one to believe "grow old with me/the best is yet to be" as Browning seemed to believe.

Every so often one is not quite so lucky and then the days are longer and emptier. It is lamentable but whenever we think of senescence, what automatically come to mind are visions of solitude and neglect. And if we integrate to these failing health and illness the picture becomes filled with a sense of helpless despair. Although it is true that at no stage of life is it ever smooths sailing and every stage has its own attendant problems, those of senescence seem insurmountable because the physical ability and mental resilience to cope with adverse situations are vastly reduced. And, to top it all, if there is no one else around even remotely intriguingly fascinated in whether the problem at hand merits a solution, the fight becomes that much harder.

 Old-Age Problems

Old age may bring on a need of mental sharpness. This can take place because of physical weakness. If the mind has been deserted, especially if the Word of God the almighty has been abandoned, there will be a breakdown of the mentality. In the said old age, there can be an embarrassment to life from the viewpoint of success standards. Someone looks back and observes life as a breakdown. Maybe he set ambitions, and now he is old and never understood the goals. There is an enormous danger of disenchantment. There is a propensity for great augment in mental attitude signs in old age, with stress on criticism and judgment. These things are over and over again overlooked in youth; but they are terrible in the elderly.

There is habitually a lack of self-confidence in old age, particularly if the old people can't take care of themselves monetarily. Their children are in the chief of their lives and repeatedly the children's plans do not include them. Old age may bring a lack of ability to concentrate, forgetfulness, inability to speak, to hear, to see etc. So the old individual gets used to sitting in a chair as pensiveness, vegetating, saying nothing.

There is occasionally a lack of reason to live, too much redundant time, and too much time for belligerent. There may be a craving to travel but no means to do so. There is a lack of important things to do. Old age brings about future shock. Senior citizen finds himself out of phase with the younger generations of children and grandchildren. Therefore a hazardous trend can get started toward hypercriticism.

The older believer may have stopped up growing religiously, or worse, may for no reason have got started. There is, therefore, no learning, no pursuit with God, no longing for the Word life. There is a propensity to vegetate, to become tired, to rely on the learning done years before. There can be a predisposition toward the negatives of Titus 2:3, becoming fake accusers, rumours, evil speakers, cruel in criticism.

There is a trend in the midst of older believers to drink a lot when they don't have something else going for them. There is the inclination to imagine that getting old means that a person has some wisdom. So there is the talkative senior citizen who never stops talking and impose continuous boredom on his listeners with his tired expression and homely chatter.