Monday 9 March 2015

HUMAN AGING - OVER THE HILL?




This article is 'Human Ageing - Over the Hill?' and this will be followed up next month by 'Human Ageing - The Thrill of The Ride!'

The rationale of continuing the topic over two parts is to allow the first part to provide a sociological reflection on ageing of our parents and grandparents.  The second part is to reflect how different ageing has become in 2015 and how different it will be in fifty years time i.e. circa 2065.

These two united articles were driven by my personal experiences which is very different from my parents.

Recent research authoritatively shows that over 33% of the current Australian population who are baby boomers will have an extended lifetime of 105 years.

Following generations have the possibility of living to 110-120 years.  I would imagine this would be similar to others living in the North Americas and Europe.

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OVER THE HILL?



Time and Tide passes slowly yet quickly.

When waiting for things to happen, waiting for life to become abundant with health, money or happiness in our relationships or work, time may pass slowly.

If we are not waiting for things to happen and am cruising through our time in this life and fully embrace and enjoy what we have, life can pass rather quickly.

However, there can be a time when we feel chronologically and biologically older.

We realise that all those kids you thought were kids, are running businesses, companies and the government. Those same kids also seem to be popping up on television being authorities on almost anything.

The time has come that we realise that those former kids, yours and everyone else's, are fully grown, mature, productive and fully functioning adults who are looking after our national interests and making a darn good job of it!

When out and about, when before we never noticed, now we begin to feel a degree of deference from the 'youngsters'.

The realisation occurs to us, that if these former kids are now in their thirties and fourties then our life is suddenly passing much faster.  Like...where on earth did those last twenty years go?  Do we feel the challenge of riding our bike up the hill is getting just a little too tough?
What is over the other side of that darned hill anyway?
It is just more of the continuing struggle of pushing a bike uphill over the last sixty years?



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With time and experience comes knowledge and wisdom.

But great knowledge and wisdom often does not present itself until about two thirds of our life has passed.
The wisdom and great awareness of ageing taking place within us and the concept of our life time running out can become a confronting reality. We realise we have only about 30-50 years to go before we physically permanently depart the 'mortal coil'.

The kids are grown up, have their own children, the house, car, kids, cat and a dog.
We have stopped working and spend time doing what we want, when we want and how we want.
If we don't want to do anything, we don't.  What a wonderful luxury!
Well, my life is anyways.

How we handle retirement or ageing is very much attitudinal within ourselves.

So, how do we live the rest of our life?
Do we live as our parents lived?
Are our attitudes and behaviours of mum and dad or perhaps grandma and grandpa and other forebears how we are now?

Over the past 50, 40 and even the last twenty years much has changed in the civilised world and capitalist nations.

Perhaps you remember when the family entertainment was the radio or wireless taking pride of place in the living room.  We sat in our comfy chairs facing the radio and watched as we listened...no pictures, just sound.  Wow...high tech stuff!

Then along came television.  The TV again held pride of place in the living room, that pride of place often being the corner.  Now, the box not only had sound, but moving pictures as well, almost cinemaesque.  Do you remember that about sixty years ago?  I do, but gosh, as the oldies say, 'it seems like only yesterday' and it is then that I realise I am now one of those oldies, or am I?

How about telephones?  The only folks who had telephones were those who were rich and 'well to do'.
How about refrigerators?  When I was a small kid we, as many of our neighbours, had an ice-box.  Again, when electric refrigerators were invented, it was only the wealthy folks who could afford them.
Motor cars is another thing, when I was a kid we had a little second hand Singer (yes, the car not the sewing machine).

Over the past 50 or 60 years, after the invention of transistors there was a resurgence of technology and innovation and it is these technologies and innovations that have driven the world and society to develop much faster than in the past 100 years.  That is my opinion anyway.

Regards our parents and grandparents, we seem to remember them as being conservative, mostly accepting what politicians said as gospel, and felt the same about the clergy. Folks in those days dressed modestly, rarely cussed or swore and in fact, sadly, only the wealthy had a university education and few rose above the class to which they were born.  The society into which one was born dictated which circular track one would be stuck running around until death. There were the supposed intellectual elite, generally born of university education, who were often liberal in their thought and behaviour.

Older citizens of those days had a far different life than we do today in 2015.
'In the day' older citizens, of whom the mother was the house keeper and kid looker-after-er did not work. Looking after home and family was her job, and the father went to work to pay the bills and feed the family.
So, when the mum and dad retired, all they did was sit on the porch or in the parlour and read, knitted or similar and generally did nothing because in those days, not much existed except socialisation and all were happy with that.  Additionally our parents and grandparents seem much older than we are now although we are now similiar in age. It must be born in mind that also in those days; the average length of life was about 60-75 years of age, or thereabouts.

Time has changed, our life and ways of living have altered or morphed from those of our parents and grandparents because today we have so many things to get on with.  We are far more healthy because of higher living standards and consequently, live longer.

If we look at our parents and grandparents and see how they coped in older life, their declining years, it really can't be compared to us oldies today.  This is because we are not old.  We are biologically much younger than the chronology dictates.

It is no longer necessary to think of ourselves as being almost 'over the hill' like our antecedents, but in reality, because of our higher ldegree of health and standard of living, that hill is becoming lower and much more fun.

So, if we have a mental attitude of being almost 'over the hill' and our bloody bike has flat tyres, the road has rocks, and it is all a struggle, get off and walk the bike up the hill.  After all, that is what the Tour de France riders do when their hills become too tough, and, they get over the hills and humps, so we can too.

I'll tell you what folks, with all the advances of technology, medicine and our high standard of living, there is far more over the hill that will be really great.  We may not yet be able to see over the hill, but I reckon from the top it will look fantastic!

Stop thinking of the age thing, adopt a different attitude and see the reality, 40 is the new thirty and 60 is the new 50!

Hop on your bike, head for the hills, there is a wonderful view ahead.
Experience the world and peddle just over the little hill in front of you, you will be surprised what is ahead.


Enjoy the Ride!
Verde








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