Old Paradigm vs New Paradigm of What Old Is

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   gmwilliamsposted 9 years ago

   
   There are those who dread become old as they believe that old age signals the beginning of decline of one's physical and mental abilites, subsequently resulting in death.  They also believe that becoming old means discarding the dreams, desires, and hopes of one's youth, thereby just being resigned about life, wishing for what MIGHT have been.  They further believe that becoming old means a gradual loss of their attractiveness factor.  They start becoming less concerned about their appearance, not being conscientious of it as they once were.  They begin to care less about how they present themselves, letting themselves go to seed.  They also begin to doubt or least suppress their allure to the opposite gender. 
   
   Then there are others to whom age is just........a number.  They intend to love life to its ultimate fullest.  They will do what it takes to retain their youthful vigor as long as possible.  They see so-called old age as another evolution and growth period.  They view old age as renewal, instead of seeing it as gradual decline.   They have a youthful attitude and believe that young people do not have hegemony on youth.  Youth belongs to everyone regardless of age.  They pursue new and different goals whether it is a career, love affair,  lifestyle, food, or anything that suits their fancy.   They refuse to become old just because they have reached a so-called certain age.  They contend that the OLD paradigm of what old age is, is as antediluvian as the Ark.  Ths group of older people are the ones that others want to be around as they are forever vibrant and forward looking and thinking.  Do YOU agree with this premise?  Why?  Why not?

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      Pauline Davenportposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Getting physically older is a mixture of the two comments above- the extra wrinkles become lines much more quickly, you suddenly have chin hair,, your skin has bits of sag where it was firm before - all of that- and on low days you can doubt your own allure - but this has nothing to do with getting old in your head, the real 'getting old' Loving, giving laughing, playing with small children - I mean really playing with them, doing what they do, seeing life through their eyes as opposed to  -merely watching them - can't help but keep you sharp and keep a young fresh outlook on life

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      1. 85

         gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Great spiritual analysis.

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2. 76

   Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years ago

   I think it is weird that the soul never ages, but the body does. Doesn't seem fair. We should be able to stay as young as we feel and then when we get tired of being on the physical plane, just leave the body.

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   1. 85

      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      What a PROFOUND analysis indeed.  LOVING IT!

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   2. 60

      Pauline Davenportposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      it doesn't seem fair I guess in some ways Kathryn,, but i guess we wouldn't learn and experience what we should if we stayed for ever physically young Every one we ever meet, however briefly, touches our lives in some way, and we touch theirs. For instance, giving is a wonderful feeling to the giver and receiver alike, but it can sometimes be hard to receive if you've always been accustomed to giving, and if you're old and frail, you do need to accept help, sometimes of the most intimate kind., and the other side of that coin is that the giver is experiencing all sorts too
      Patience is something else that needs to be learned - maybe you need to be getting a bit long in the tooth to learn that too - I don't know, maybe not - but I do think we are here to experience as much as we can before we die, whether our years are long or short lived. I'm guessing that this blog  of gmwilliams is going to become a wonderful meaty discussion eh?

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3. 60

   gramon1posted 9 years ago

   At 59, I would have been of retirement age one generation ago. My father refused to retire until he was 76. My grandfather also retired in his seventies. they knew that as long as we have energy, we should continue enjoying life and contributing to the world. I guess the main difference is that people had a hard time because they did not want to retire. Nowadays, even Social Security refuses to let us retire until we are 67.
   I don't want to be old and will continue doing what I do for as long as I can. A big part of being old is giving in to pains and weaknesses. I practice karate and have been injured many times. Every time, I continue working around the pain. But I have seen many people my age drop out since I was in my late forties. A knee, a shoulder, or a an elbow injury will continue giving you working out pain for a very long time. It is difficult to continue working out with a daily pain. 
   I think that giving in to pain, stress, and longer recovery time leads many people to decide they are too old for (you name it).
   A big part of the reduction of endurance and abilities that comes from age derives from slow deterioration caused by insufficient or incorrect use and from a reduction in the absorption of nutrients.

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   1. 85

      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly, there are people who are working in their 80s, even their 90s.  If one LOVES his/her job, then work is an adventure and fun thus one does not want to retire.  Chita Rivera is still going QUITE STRONG in her 80s.  She is currently in a play. 
      

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