Information Related to "Aging Gracefully in an Uncertain World"
| Audio/Video |
Aging Gracefully in an Uncertain World
Growing old should be a positive experience. How can we make those years positive
and productive?
by Graemme Marshall
When 77-year-old John Glenn blasted off into space aboard he space shuttle Discovery, the positive aspects of graceful aging were clearly evident.
The United Nation General Assembly has designated 1999 as the International Year
of Older Persons. This shows a significant shift in Western society attitudes towards
sympathizing with aging and the elderly. Recognition of their value is long overdue.
Calling Out the Gray Army
Retirement at an ever-earlier age is spawning a far-reaching trend. It results
in a huge pool of still vigorous men and women too often involved in a restless floating
about the country. Some occupy themselves with part-time jobs or self-employment
as they search for effective meaning to this vital stage of their lives.
As governments' deficit spending eats away at the value of retirement programs, a
gray army emerges of still-capable workers who need to pay ever-present bills--now
even into their 90s.
In some parts of the world - in particular the Indian subcontinent as well as in Asia,
China and South America--the economic value of older people seems better appreciated.
Because of cultural and economic necessity, many of the so-called underdeveloped
countries still value senior citizens. Though walking into the sunset of their lives,
many maintain fitness, health and their mental abilities.
Perhaps such countries are ahead of the affluent West. Society should see the need
to treat golden-agers with more dignity, recognizing that they need not be shunted
off into nursing homes for the aged.
Human Laboratory on Aging
An astronaut for the second time, John Glenn is a shining example of what social
scientists have learned about aging gracefully. Mr. Glenn, astronaut and former United
States senator, blasted into space on a nine-day mission last October, 36 years from
when he became the first American to orbit the earth. Now he holds the record for
being the oldest man in space.
Scientists hope Mr. Glenn's shuttle trip will lead to further space research on how
and why we age.
"Why send a 77-year-old man into space?" asked Robert Luchi of the Huffington
Center on Aging at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "Here's a man who's
done all the right things. He's exercised, watched his diet, his salt intake, not
had too much to drink."
Aging research conducted in space may prove invaluable, Dr. Luchi and others say,
because of the many physical astronauts experience. The near-weightless environment
of an orbit around the earth resembles a speeded-up version of the aging process.
The studies Mr. Glenn underwent to aid research bear on problems common with space
and aging.
In astronauts, as in the elderly, muscles atrophy, bones weaken, sleep becomes difficult,
and balance grows precarious. By studying an aging astronaut, scientists may better
compare the effects of aging with the way the body changes in space flight.
Anything these tests eventually conclude may have already been upstaged by one simple
fact: A 77-year-old man had the physical and mental capacity to pass stringent NASA
flight testing to serve on the crew of a space-shuttle mission.
Avoiding the Despair Trap
Since Most of us are likely to live longer than our parents lived. What can we
do to make our latter years as profitable and productive as possible?
The idea of retirement tends to push some people into discouragement and despair.
Then, after the sudden loss of employment, boredom results. After all, who
are you when you no longer define yourself by your work?
Retirement is one of the most troubling passages of adult life for many Americans.
The higher the perceived status of one's work, the steeper and scarier the slide
into anonymity. Retirees find themselves subjected to cultural prejudices, at times
labeled "slow old geezers" and much worse.
The elderly who accept such characterizations usually underestimate their mental
skills. Pessimism can overcome those who believe the aging process has left them
behind in reasoning and verbal skills. As a result, they can begin to adopt an unnecessary
dependence on spouses, children or doctors. But positive steps can be taken to sidestep
these circumstances.
Debunking Myths About Getting Older
Old people are not necessarily more handicapped than younger people. Anyone at
any age can experience sickness or otherwise become incapacitated, even from birth.
A handicap is not necessarily the result of advanced age.
According to recent studies brain cells do not die off in extensive numbers leading
to a mental decline. Rather, they shrink or grow dormant in old age, especially from
lack of stimulation and challenge. You can expect to continue to enjoy mental alertness
throughout late age.
If you are an older person who practices a daily discipline of mental exercise, you
already maintain intellectual agility. Staying alert and alive can be as simple as
doing crossword puzzles, writing family journals, balancing your budget or reading
newspapers and books instead of passively ingesting too much television.
Certainly input and recall slow. But children, too, forget their clothes, toys and
schoolbooks. How many parents exclaim, "You'd forget your head if it wasn't
screwed on"?; Aging does not automatically equate with forgetfulness.
Assert These Positives
Proper and sensible exercise helps maintain mental sharpness, vibrancy and the
physical strength to negotiate steps, stairs and obstacles. In fact, it appears to
be the single most effective nonmedical balm to retard the negative impact of aging.
Long daily walks are part of a sensible regimen.
In a fitness study, men and women typical of frail nursing-home residents worked
out vigorously on exercise machines for 45 minutes three times a week to strengthen
their legs.After only a few weeks these people--in their late 80s and 90s--could
get around more quickly, climb stairs better and sometimes even throw away their
walkers. Working out strengthens aging muscles and improves life in other significant
ways.
Octogenarians who started exercising were less depressed and more likely to walk
around on their own or take part in social activities. Exercise oxygenates the blood
and helps release mood-elevating endorphin enzymes. It increases the oxygen
and sugar available to the brain.
Working on your health also helps you tell yourself you have not given up on life.
A word of qualification: A person with a chronic illness or serious debilitation
may need professional medical advice before embarking on a strenuous exercise program.
Consider acquiring a pet animal. Although pets are not for everyone, some hospitals
and nursing homes use cats, dogs and canaries to entertain and help rehabilitate
their patients. Pets can boost morale because they help people forget their problems.
They induce laughter and help recall memories of favorite animals of the past. A
pet can be a wonderful friend to ward off isolation and loneliness, not to mention
the need for home security.
The Challenge of New Opportunities
Old age shouldn't be viewed as the automatic end of enjoyable and productive
activities. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that new ventures in life that only
the elderly can fully appreciate are on the way. The words of Psalm 92 are positively
encouraging. Declaring that part of a blessing of being "the righteous"
is also that "they shall still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and
flourishing" (verses 13-14).
Senior citizens need to find new goals for this critical stage of life so it turns
out productive and fruitful. No matter how poor or limited life might have been,
we still hold the power to shape our future.
Instead of focusing on time running out, it's a more positive exercise to make the
most of each day. Priorities become different when time grows shorter. Have you heard
the story of the aggressive young salesman trying to sell a 95-year-old man an insurance
policy? In spite of polite refusals from the elderly gentleman, the young man persisted.
Finally the old man said, "Look, young fellow, you don't seem to understand.
At my age I don't even buy green bananas."
If every day is welcomed with a joy for life, you'll never feel too old. You will
just keep on growing, and new opportunities will begin to present themselves.
Choosing the Good Life
At retirement or in advanced age, we have a second adulthood with an opportunity
for new ambition. Instead of letting life push us around, we can begin to take charge.
We invariably have two broad choices: passive aging or continued maturity. Passivity
is to allow ourselves to be dominated by enfeeblement and breakdown of our health.
Instead, we can make a conscious decision to push forward. Just like changing a career,
it may mean trusting in faith and even involve some risk and require some tough discipline.
The closer we come to an end of our life's vitality, the Everest of all questions
has to be faced. Is aging a cruel joke by the Creator? Or did He plan people to become
old for a reason? What is turning elderly supposed to teach?
Near the conclusion of our life's experience, shouldn't we grapple with the basic
questions like why we were born and why we even have life? We need to have the hope
of living again--the expectation of a resurrection to a better life.
The aged tend to come to a clearer realization of how close they are to the Kingdom
of God--a sense of urgency about making the most of each day and being closer to
God. A new and better world awaits us all beyond the grave. With this comforting
thought gloom and pessimism will fade. The final heartbeat in death is not an end,
but a grand beginning.
As inconveniences of old age arrive--perhaps health problems, maybe just aches and
pains--the expectation of a life in a new and better world order should shine more
brightly. This is to be more prized than any other possessions. Seeking the Kingdom
of God first (Matthew 6:33) makes our present lives more abundant and worthwhile.
Badge of Honor
God chose to portray His awesome majesty to the prophet Daniel and the apostle
John by describing "the Ancient of Days" with hair as "white as wool"
(Daniel 7:9; Revelation 1:14). So be delighted if white hair should come your way.
Our creative, sustaining God is content to picture spiritual maturity that way. If
white or gray hair represents accumulated godly wisdom, you wear a badge of honor.
Scripture encourages the younger generation to "rise up before the gray headed
and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God" (Leviticus 19:32).
It is important, however, that gray heads be "found in the way of righteousness"
(Proverbs 16:31).
The International Year of Older Persons is a recognition that age should not be a
trash-heap experience. Rather, it should be a new start. That new start should be
viewed through a proper biblical perspective. Successfully coming to terms with aging
means not viewing death as a period ending a sentence. Instead it is a comma, briefly
interrupting a sentence that has yet more to say.
Sidebar: Coping Successfully with Growing Older
Western economics, based on "consumption and planned obsolescence,"
has applied questionable values to older people through the policy of mandatory retirement.
After that often comes abandonment of the elderly to nursing or retirement homes.
However, governments cannot ignore changing demographics. A predominantly old population
in the immediate future is bringing to the forefront "gray power."
Springing up in response to being repeatedly rejected for jobs are home service businesses
called "the gray army." Staffed by formerly unemployed tradespeople from
their mid-40s through their 60s, these workers offer home-repair services as plumbing,
electrical, tiling, carpentry and painting. They bring experience, reliability and
competence along with reasonable rates.
Older persons do not, if in good health, seriously diminish their competence. Gail
Sheehy, in her book New Passages, observes: "For the first time in the
history of the world most people in the advanced societies can expect to live into
the long late afternoon of life." She notes that aging studies suggest that
"a woman who reaches 50 today--and remains free of cancer and heart disease--can
expect to see her ninety-second birthday" (page 5). Men's longevity has similarly
shifted upward.
Certain octogenarians have always stood out from the crowd. Violinist Yehudi Menuhin
was away from his home in England conducting concerts throughout Australia in late
1998. He was also giving master classes for talented young musicians.
--Graemme Marshall
Sidebar: The Unrealized Benefits of Maturity
Aging brings a generosity of spirit and often yields a greater self-mastery of
emotions and attitudes along with a deeper appreciation for the complexity of life.
It encourages the forgiveness of former enemies. It abets the sharing of thoughts
by letters, sayings and jokes--all things that help lift up other people.
The elderly normally have greater self-control, partly because they no longer need
to protect some inflexible position. After all, what's the most anyone can do to
you? Fire you when you're already retired? You have the comfortable feeling of no
longer being pushed around by fashion or peer pressure.
A settled confidence comes from experience. You may feel freer to try things you
wouldn't attempt earlier, because now you have less to lose. A directness, an uninhibited
expression about what you really think, ushers in a stage of life in which you know
most about yourself and how better to relate to other people.
You are practiced; you know how things work. You can enjoy greater composure, a lessening
of highs and lows. You may sense an exuberance, but less depression. Maturity brings
a sense of being in control of your life.
You feel an inner peace from the acceptance of life. You can look back on your accomplishments
with some satisfaction--perhaps a greater calm about what you didn't achieve. From
middle age and onward, your place on the career ladder is most likely high enough.
Men gain a clearer view of the need to show affection to their wives and children.
They better appreciate how much their spouses contributed to their children's upbringing
while they themselves were too often preoccupied with a career. Being a grandparent
also helps keep one young.
Romantic love can blossom and mature for older people. What does a wife most want
from her husband in her 60s, 70s and beyond? She longs for the same wants, needs,
tenderness and warmth she desired when she was younger. This is the beauty of committed
love from a lifelong devotion. A long partnership of love that faces good and bad
times means a husband and wife are real friends, confidants and allies. Committed
love over the years yields the highest return on this faithful investment. It becomes
a marriage of advanced maturity.
--Graemme Marshall
A Ministry of Reconciliation
Reconciliation opportunities exist in unexpected places. It's of little help
to others when we want to make up for past mistakes if we fail to do so before we
die. Each day is a window of opportunity to correct family mistakes. We can absolve
the conscience and confront the uncomfortable situations of earlier years.
In the sunset of life we feel less embarrassment at losing face. We are best prepared
by life's wisdom to humbly accept blame for wrongs. The mellowing of age equips to
forgo pride in favor of doing the right thing.
The best gift we can give to a child or spouse is to set things straight while we
still have time. The older we get the harder it is to lie to ourselves. How much
happier we could be by clearing away a guilty conscience.
So write your own epitaph. What has been the sum of your life? Is it too late to
put more meaning into it? How do you want to be remembered?
--Graemme Marshall
© 1999-2022 United Church of God, an International Association
Related Information:
Table of Contents that includes "Aging Gracefully in an Uncertain World"
Other Articles by Graemme Marshall
Origin of article "Aging Gracefully in an Uncertain World"
Keywords: aging gracefully life in old age retirement health mental health maturity
Retirement: