One of my close friends’uncle retired from government services in the last month.So I thought it would be a right time to discuss about the life of senior citizens after their retirement.Will these people have to end up all their activities and sit idle in the corner of the house? What are old people for?How Elders Will Save the World? Growing old doesn’t have to be about nursing homes and wheel chairs.
A saying runs that’talents are exhausted with the coming of old age’ and our elders generally believe it.Whatever happens, they say, ’old people must live in quiteness, we are old, we have no more ambition.It is upto our children to take charge of temporal affairs.we are nearing death, we need not be active any longer.’ But they should not think like that.They have to take lead and encourage and impart their experiences to their children.
We live in a society now that is organized around the percept that adulthood lasts forever.That once you become a productive, independent adult there is no other aceptable way to live.You can ask any geriatrician who takes care of older people, and he can tell you that there are millions of people out there who are clinging on to the myth of independence because they’re afraid that if they lose their grip on independence they’ll be removed from community and placed in a nursing home.Our society looks at old age and sees one thing;and that is decline.And is, therefore, blind to some of the most miraculous things that old age has to offer.
Noe let me just say that the emotional life of older people in general is more positive, less negative, more resilient generally than the emotional life of younger people.The reason that’s often been true is that elders generally don’t lust after the latest mobile phone or any fancy car; they’re generally much more interested in the well-being of their family and the future well-being of their grand children and so on and so they have a different take on the environment very often than we people do.And the first and primary function of elderhood is grandparenting and it’s been a staggering success.
And part of reason I wrote this post was to help people see the potential for a new future where old age is truly respected and an honored part of our social fabric.