Old age is not a mystery; make it as a history

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by veni_mohan75, Mar 9, 2010.

  1. Renukamanian

    Renukamanian Senior IL'ite

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    To have a taste and love for music will ultimately prove to be a great boon or blessing at the time of old age. Old age people can spend lot of time hearing good classical music whether it is carnatic or hindusthani or light music too. :thumbsup

    "Renukamanian"
     
  2. billybob

    billybob Gold IL'ite

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    With increasing life expectancy and both spouses working senior citizens may have to find alternatives instead of constantly depending on children for emotional well being. In future we need develop a hobby or volunteer in a hospital church, temple, school, library or orphanage few hours day, 4-5 days a week. I have seen senior citizens in late 60s, 70s and even 80s still working and some of them volunteering and taking pride in small day to day accomplishments. Some of them enroll in YMCA or yoga classes just for seniors. I may be wrong but structured activities 4-5 days in a week will keep them healthy and something to look forward they wake up in the morning. My FIL, when he visited us for six months in his early 80s used to go for long walks both in mornings and evenings and used to do breathing yoga exercises. In fact he knew more people in our neighborhood than us.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2011
  3. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    very interesting and relevant thread. all of us have to grow old and face age related problems one day. more so in this age and era when life expectancy gas gone up tremendously. life does not spare any one and all of us will have our turn.

    as human beings capable of thinking and caring, it stands to reason that we should lavish all our care and affection on our elderly relatives and make them feel needed and loved. but this is not happening and increasingly old people are feeling isolated and lonely.

    is it that the younger generation is incapable of loving their aged relatives? i feel it would only be fair to look at the other side of the story (at the risk of being the devil's advocate and getting brickbats).

    the generation gap factor has always existed, more so in recent times. add to this the pace of life, which has grown very rapidly in recent times. our expectations of the younger generation in terms of achievement are not funny, to say the least. trying to live up to these expectations, youngsters have to put in endless hours of work and effort without having enough time for recreation and rest. the pressure being numbing, impatience builds up. net result - children have neither the time nor the inclination to lend an ear to the ramblings of the old. one more factor to be considered is that, in earlier times large joint families ensured that there were always plenty of people of varying age groups around the elderly to share in their care. so they never had an occasion to feel lonely. realities of family life being what they are today, related problems have also cropped up. (sadly enough, youngsters having become the centre of attention of parents and having fewer siblings to share with and to adjust to, they have also become very selfish and incapable of sparing a thought for others or their infirmities). increasing exposure to a globalized world has also led to a major gap between their reality and that of their elders. ultimately, it is our own unbridled ambitions and in some cases greed :bonk that has spawned a younger generation of such unfeeling, individualistic and self centred monsters .

    i am sorry if i sound heartless, but believe me when i say that is far from being true. i feel equally pained at the state of the elderly, but one also needs to analyze the problem rather objectively. as i said, all of us are going to grow old (god alone can help us), but unfortunately we cannot turn the wheels of time backwards. we can either lament, or having accepted the life style of the west rather mindlessly, we now also need to adopt some of the positive aspects of their life style - viz. self reliance to the utmost. it is rather heartening to see so many tech savvy, socially involved, "with it" seniors amongst us here in IL who have expanded their definition of "family" beyond the traditional, narrow one. my kudos to them :bowdown. may their tribe increase and let us follow their example as we step into a brave new world. :thumbsup
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2011
  4. gsaikripa

    gsaikripa Gold IL'ite

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    Dear veni,
    good post...

    The old people require the love and affection....
     
  5. billybob

    billybob Gold IL'ite

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    At What age are we considered to be old, my parents thought they were old at 50s, is it 60s after retirement, or 70s or 80s. In India mid 50s to early 60s is considered as old age.
     
  6. kaluputti

    kaluputti Platinum IL'ite

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    A very good question BB, considering today's 'old' who actually have a good time, rather than of the 60s.:) (am one of the former:thumbsup)

    I think, the age doesn't matter, since it is only of the mind.Anyway, when we become redundant, in the sense that our duties are over as a parent and to some extent g.parents,...:cheers

    When suddenly you find many (only) young faces everywhere you go, be it railway booking counter, [or the driver or the cunductor of a bus, an autowallah, a Doctor and what not.....!:crazy

    You are totally ignored in a group discussion, unless you are in your age group....:biglaugh

    isn't it?

    What do you think?

    The 'old' have to understand and relate to the 'young' since they have been through it all....is my personal opinion.:2thumbsup:
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2011
  7. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    A very positive statement. Really liked and appreciated this. Age is all in the mind. And true age will be tempered with the maturity of experience, placing the person to relate more meaningfully to the "young" who still have a long way to go and a lot to learn.
     
  8. kaluputti

    kaluputti Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks for the FB 'Sat Chit Ananda'....:thumbsup!As long as we identify with our body the question of becoming 'old' remains.It is a physiological process, which no one can stop.It is only how we keep our minds young and open to new aspects in life, that counts.

    There is one incident about which I read long time back, ..in the 'Life is like that' section of Readers' Digest, which comes to my mind often enough to forget about aging.

    " There was this family with 5 or 6 kids who were visiting their g.parents during hols.The parents of the kids were careful enough not to over tax the elders in any way.

    One day the kids were playing 'catch me' or 'hide & seek, and suddenly there was a great noise, the kids shouting and laughing and creating a racket.One of the parents rushed to the spot and checked the kids not to create too much noise, so that they won't be disturbing their g.parents who were supposed to be resting at that time.But she was greatly amused to see one of the kids wailing.."but, mamma, granma is our 'it', We have caught her", and we have to find granpa yet!

    Howzzat for a 'old' child's mind?
     
  9. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    That is such a lovely, heart warming story. It is very true that many of us tend to see our parents as "old" the day they are 40 and God help these parents as they touch 50, 60, 70. Even if they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves and enjoying life, the younger generations views them as decrepit and thinks it is essential to "look after" them, which is more often than not (even if it is well-meant or unintentional) upsetting and exasperating to the older people.
     
  10. Padmini

    Padmini IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Veni,
    A wonderful post much needed now.
    In the life span of a mortal being; old age is the last stage of human life where a human being turns into a physically and emotionally weak person. This is the juncture when he needs a lot of care. I want to emphasize here on the emotional care as it amends a lot of things once we make them happy from inside. If we share their loneliness and fears, at least empathize with them, just that extra step, makes them really contended.Grand ma and grand pa playing with kids. I am playing with my GD to keep me mobile and young:)
    with love
    pad

     

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