Inevitably, if we escape death on the way, we grow old. Growing old is a mysterious biological process, during which many of the body’s functions slow down. It is a process of maturing and of degeneration.
Physical ageing is inevitable. Everybody’s hearing and sight diminish in sharpness as the years pass; hair becomes grey and thins; muscle strength diminishes; the kidneys function less efficiently; and illness is less easily combated. Psychological ageing is not inevitable; it depends on the person’s attitude to old age.
To grow old is inevitable, to feel old is not.
We feel old because, over the years, we have lived unwisely and because we have been conditioned by society to believe that old people are inferior, dissolute, often dirty, possibly degenerate, sometimes dejected, and usually cut off from ‘real’ life, that is a life based on work. Old people believe this myth, because when they were younger that is how they saw old people to be. Once you believe in a myth, you become part of it; you play the role expected of you. In this way, old people play the role society expects of them -they feel old.
*347/16/1*
Write a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.