Old Age is not merely another stage of life.
Mar 17, 2020 18:20:00 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Mar 17, 2020 18:20:00 GMT -5
Old Age is not merely another stage of life
Life passes in stages: childhood- 1-12 adolescence-13 -19,young adulthood, 20-39- mature adulthood 40 - 49 - junior old age 50 -69 and senior old age 70 to-death.
Each stage brings with it its challenges. Childhood the challenge of attaining a personality that will prove advantageous adulthood within the culture in which one is raised. The challenge of gaining a proper education. Of dealing with hostile peers. Of handling the raging emotions that are gradually becoming difficult to ignore. Or dealing with a home environment detrimental to mental health health. Not easy, but the changes that take place physically during childhood and adolescence and early adulthood all contain the seed of promise and a new commencement of life, of opening up vistas of opportunities and of a journey that is just starting.
In stark contrast, the physical changes characteristic of old age are all harbingers of an approaching a termination. A final resounding closure to a journey that is now past and cannot be resumed regardless of how it panned out. In fact, even if it went well, the fear of nonexistence looming ahead with the passage of each second, terrifies and threatens as they realize all changes from that point onward are merely a steady unrelenting preparation for death.
That horrible reality, that has to be dealt with on a daily basis, makes the experience of old age a psychological torment. Laughter? Why? What indeed is so funny now that the end is near? As a poignant reminder, all around life thrives as new people are born and the aged see whom their replacements will be.
The certainty or inevitability of the final outcome is constantly assured by the disappearance of people who once seemed permanent fixtures in their realty. Gradually they vanish just ahead or behind us as if they had really never been. The cherished parents, whom once were childishly considered virtually immune from death, the ever-present friends, the ubiquitous famous people all gradually vanish, very emphatically and unmercifully reminding them that they are next.
That mirror, into which young-age once confidently and pridefully peered in self-admiration and satisfaction, is now mocking them with a grotesque caricature of their former selves. So they gradually begin to avoid looking at themselves in the mirror. That hoary-haired old person they catch a glimpse of in the store window-pane reflections or in store surveillance mirrors, seems some distant stranger, but definitely cannot be them. Yet, as if in perpetual defiance, the ideal young person with whom they came to identify persists within. They hold on to that vibrantly youthful image with a stubbornness borne of desperation, as the past becomes preferable and the present becomes totally unacceptable.
They hear people once considered old, calling them Papa or gramps or pops. Women once considered decrepit, old hags, offering to help them to fetch things from store freezers-a gesture they prefer not be made. They wonder why, and eventually realize that they are older and even look older than they do now. Younger women who formerly glanced at them coquettishly now open doors for them with a daughterly smile. So do younger men who passed by indifferently now offer assistance. They must accept it and say thanks even though they feel insulted and fume and rage inside about what they might consider a callous audacity and lack of empathy. .
Important things that could have been done or accomplished, but never were, are bitterly regretted. They realize their mistakes too late and blame themselves for not trying or not trying harder. Epiphanies or realizations and deep understandings of things that were once puzzling begin to dawn on them with far more frequency. They wonder why they could not have perceived such truths earlier when it would have made a difference. Why now when too late?
Memory of recent events, of moments before, start to falter. What exactly was that on the TV show or film that they were just watching prior to the advertisement about? After all, they had been sitting watching it for the last hour and should be able to readily recall it. What is that very familiar actor's name? Surely they can recall that name that is hovering at the tip of their tongue. It was once so simple. Almost automatic. Now they see the face but the name escapes them. They search desperately but their brains just don't seem capable of gaining easy access to that data.
Physical abilities we once had have disappeared and we are left with nothing but the memories. Steps become harder to climb and keeping our balance isn't as easy any longer. Infirmities begin to take their toll. Injuries which were permanent, albeit minor, begin to get worse. They totter on their feet without being pushed. Who pushed them? Why are they tilting in a way that will land them on the pavement if they don't stop it? Joints once capable of hoisting impressive weights, now begin to ache from carrying light grocery bags.
All the while, that horrible darkness ahead looms ever closer and closer, with the ticking of every second, with the passage of every hour -with the accumulation of each seemingly-accelerating day, leading to years that also go by much more quickly. They panic at the looming darkness that rushes approaches and promises the oblivion of nonexistence. But to no avail. They plead for a second chance, but there is no response. They recoil but the dense darkness draws ever nearer.
In final resignation, they might merely wonder and ponder the effect that their behavior has had on others. How much was harmful? How much was helpful? The ramifications of the bad worries them. How much harm could their irresponsible actions have generated in the stream of time in future societies? How many generations will be affected by how they chose to treat certain others who could have turned out differently? They don't know and can't know, but they can ponder and worry and regret during the sage of life called old age..