Sunday, June 17, 2012

Ageing the right way.

For the first time in human history, the world will soon have more older people than children.
By mid-century,  2 billion men and women will be over 60 years old.  Sounds scary? Not really.
You might think,
Older people can’t take care of themselves.

Older people can’t do new things at work (or play)

Older people are no longer attractive

Older people should accept illness as part of ageing

The world is changing.
Stereotypes hold us back.

So what can we do about this?
a)   Start early with healthy habits
Whenever I see kids playing basketball, my fingers itch to grab the ball and join them in the game. But the fact is that I know I won’t be able to keep up for more than 2 minutes on the court. 

The reason? Somewhere along the way I gave up playing basketball and as a result my stamina is not the same. But I know of a senior in our organisation who retired last year at the age of sixty. He played five days a week after office hours and was still coaching the youngsters when he retired. I would call that as developing a healthy habit and sticking to it.

b)  Value their contribution to the society.
Their contribution may be a small one but value and appreciate it. There is nothing better to boost their morale.



c)   Keep older people at the heart of the family and community. . . to continue reading click here.


35 comments:

Ginnie said...

As an "older person" I appreciate your words here. When I read in 2006 that very few seniors had blogs I decided to try it out. It was a new venture for me and has been most satisfying. I hope to keep an open mind for the rest of my life and I never know what will come next. I can tell by your blog entries that you feel the same way.

Jean Campbell said...

The elderly are not revered as they once were. Young people need reminding. Those of us who are aging need reminders to take care of ourselves in order to remain self-sufficient.

You asked on my Seedscatterer blog about what a container patch is. A patch is a small plot of land devoted to vegetation. My container patch is just a little plot out back where I set my vegetables in containers.

It's southern colloquial, I guess. If you know the story of Brer Rabbit: "Please don't throw me in the briar patch." We plant plots of vegetables: turnip patch, bean patch, tomato patch pea patch. My containers hold peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. It is an experiment of a sort. If I can keep them healthy until late fall, they'll go in the greenhouse to see how long they will continue to produce if kept above freezing. If they don't make the summer, I'll start over from seeds in early fall to grow on inside.

Dorothy said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog! I'm a 'older person' and hope to contribute something useful to society as long as I am able.

kenju said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciate your words about older people, especially since I am one!

hamaarethoughts.com said...

.. thanks for sharing ..its very common that those who are young would be also old and same kind of treatment they would receive,, respect the seniors and get blessing in return which are precious!!

Nas said...

Thanks for the great post. It's inspiration to young people to respect older people.

Connie said...

The video has a good message and so does this post, Joe. We should value our seniors. They are an asset to all of us.

Anonymous said...

Great post, aged are an asset to our society, not burdens. And 60 is the new 40. With healthy habits and attentive medical care, longevity would increase exponentially. That being said, I am waiting to celebrate my Grandma's 100th birthday.
I live in Japan and this is an aging society, more so any other place on earth I think.And the old here are great assets to society, they are active, working and always on their bicycles on the streets. Even at the gym and pool, there are more old people working out than young ones. And it is hard to guess their ages as they are so well maintained and energetic. I wish Indians should take notice and stop treating old people with pity and hopelessness.
By the way, thanks for dropping by my blog, http://typicalindiangirl.wordpress.com/

Rama Ananth said...

A person is never old mentally. One can gain so much knowledge from their own personal experiences, that they are so willing share with everybody. Also many are so forward thinking, they are waiting to learn new things from the younger generation.
In a way both can guide and learn from each other.

Bikram said...

indeed true.. I feel that I am what I am today because of all those people .. I would give anything to have my grand father with me now , he had such a weatlh of experience , ran away from home at the age of 14 to join army as a Sepoy and to rise to be Election commissioner says a lot and I would have loved to learn all that from him

Bikram's

trees said...

What you said about giving up sports is so true for us Indians. Giving up physical activity on entering adulthood ages us like nothing else. Combine this with a lack of interest in the wider world and you are looking at a post retirement stage that is physically fragile and mentally empty.
Like your senior who retired recently, I too take inspiration from the 70 plus gentleman who jogs everyday and who I meet regularly on my morning walk. And an indomitable woman from my neighbourhood, who is in her late eighties, but appears more like a sprightly sixteen as bustles around on her errands.

Kittie Howard said...

My grandmother exercised every morning and lived into her nineties. She's been my inspiration to keep at it, recognize opportunity remains and go for it, assuming one's genetic makeup doesn't kick in and present issues beyond a normal challenge.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Great post, I love how you considered both sides of the debate.

You are only as old as you feel, and you can't teach an old dog new tricks are the two sayings that straight away came to my mind.

Betsy Brock said...

Oh, this was a great post! I think older people are fascinating. If their minds are sharp, they are so much fun to converse with...the stories they can tell! They have such a rich, full life to share!

radha said...

In another 4 years I would also be termed 'elderly' - but I do not feel that way at all. And I read somewhere as you grow older if you set yourself a reasonable goal at regular intervals, it helps keep the mind and body alert. Last year I mastered the hula hoop. It took me 6 weeks and now I use it as a form of exercise and it is fun and you should see the look of astonishment on faces of peers and the young folk too!

Jax said...

Great article! I had no idea that the ratio between the young and the old was so high now! You're right about the older generation remaining valuable member's of society. If they don't feel like they are contributing, they can get depressed.

Marie said...

This is a wonderful post! My grandmother is 82 yrs old. I love spending time with her. She has always given great advice and I wish I had listened to her about the sunscreen. LOL I have always enjoyed spending time with older people.

Talli Roland said...

Very well said! Older people can be just as healthy and more active than the younger generation, for sure!

Haddock said...

A comment from K.Parthasarathi:
Hi
I am unable to post my comment with my google email
I have no FB. Can you please enable those without FB to post comment.
This is what I wished to say:
That is an excellent post.I could relate to this being very old myself.The key to be healthy and happy besides ofcourse reasonable exercise and good eating habits is to find some interests or hobbies,This would keep them busy and crave less for attention.
Thanks for visiting my blog
warm regards
K.Parthasarathi
www.kparthas.blogspot.com

Friko said...

Thanks for the thumbs-up for us oldies. I am fit and active and happy to learn new things.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

deeps said...

we are the ones going to be oldies ha?
I guess that’s ok… we should by then know how to look after ourselves despite having children n grandchildren :P

Alka Gurha said...

Very thoughtful touching post.

Suz said...

I love those beautiful hands

grace said...

we have SO much to learn from the older generation!

Shilpa said...

Very true and u beautiful present it! Old is not ageing, its full experience and wisdom we miss if we keep them away.

Hugs

Martha said...

So true! Unfortunately when we are young we don't appreciate our elders like we should. It's not until we are aging ourselves that we start thinking about how they could have and should have been included and the wisdom we could have learned from them.

P.N. Subramanian said...

I endorse your views.

Jeannette said...

Big "Yes" from me...

Inger said...

Being an older person myself, I say, "Rigth on!" to this post. Thank you.

Renu said...

If everyone looks after his/her parents only the way they should, there wouldnt be any problem anywhere.

But at any age one has to be productive, contribute to others in some way..

Pooja. S said...

Lovely post! Very thoughtful and well written. Thanks so much for visiting my blog :)

Unknown said...

I can really understand the thoughts for I also have almost the same story and points, hmm, good thing that there are write-ups that mentions things like these.

____________________
Ashley | Olympics 2012 London

Carolyn Jung said...

It's so true. Not only are we living longer, but the elderly are definitely in greater numbers now. But I ascribe to the new philosophy that 40 is the new 30. I think we are taking better care of ourselves nowadays, so physically and mentally, we're younger than our years.

R. Ramesh said...

yez sir..thoughtful and well written post:)

DMS said...

What a wonderfully written post. It is so important to take care of ourselves! Thanks for this reminder. :)

~Jess