FEARS AND WORRIES ABOUT OLD AGEMost of people want to live a long life but we don't want to grow old. There are a lot
of worries and fears about old age, about getting senile and sick. Most of us don't want to think about aging. Let's face it! We're all getting old to die. But why worry about it? Aging isn't as bad as most people think it is. Growing old doesn't mean that we must give up on life, sit in the sala and do nothing at all and listen to people call us Grandpa, Grandma, Pops, Granny, Old Lady and Dirty Old Man (DOM). Here are some fears and worries people may have about old age;Its terrible to grow old. We do live in a world that favors the young and thinks that growing old is something we ought to apologize for. Old is how you view it. A 74 -year old man said: "I'm old but that is not a dirty word. I have earned every one of these gray hairs and I am not ashamed of them". Old is a word that describes all of us eventually. There are millions of us who grow older every day. That's nothing to be embarrassed about.Often, people think that the older we get, the less value we have for the family, the community or ourselves. But the fact is that, many people are at their best when they get old. Titian put the final touches on his opera "Othello" at 74 and produced his famous Falstaff at 80. Tennyson wrote Crossing the Bar when he was 83 years old.Most people wish they were young. There is a very human tendency to idealize the pleasures of the past. It's the good old days syndrome. Most people realize that while the good old days were great, they also had their pain and problems. Youth was not as glamorous as children are often led to believe. Actually, some people get
younger as they grow older and find more freedom and less turmoil and troubles than in the past.The elderly have many advantages. They have been around too long to care about the rat race, or to worry about appearances. They've learned that living smarter is better than living faster. Old age offer a chance to quit the mad rush of activity that so often ruins our lives, and to let go of all those anxieties, about prestige and security, new cars and bigger bank accounts. Old age gives the elderly time to observe, to think, to pray and a chance to discover simpler and more permanent values.You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but we are not talking about old dogs. We are talking about human beings. It is true that a younger
person can more easily master some skills like speaking a foreign language or sports techniques. But this fear about the aged says that older people can't learn anything new. That's not true! There maybe less need or less motivation for an older person to tackle new things but the ability to learn does not shrink with age. In fact there is a very good chance that learning skills may be more finely tuned in old age. It's true that when we grow old, brain activity can slow down for a number of reasons, disease, inadequate blood supply or loss of brain cells. But even the smartest people in the world only use a tiny fraction of their brains. The skills, knowledge and experience a people accumulate as they grow old can actually enhance brain power and give them edge over the younger folk.Memory may slip a little bit. Old persons may take a little longer to come to a conclusion but this is because they've got a lot more data to sift through than younger people have. Their decision making may actually improve over the years. Old age doesn't guarantee intelligence or wisdom and we cannot say that most old people are wise. But we can certainly say that most wise people are old.Families don't need old people. as more than they need when they were young. Every child deserves at least one adult who does not ask, "Have you brushed your teeth?. Did you do your homework? Every child needs at least an adult who is there, not to supervise and scold, but to enjoy that child. The trouble is that most parents are so busy keeping the world going that they lose the wonder and the playfulness that their children need. Many elderly are fantastic with kids.Don't die when you are old. In China, one of the first questions a person asks someone he meets is: "What is your glorious age?". If the person replies apologetically that he is in his twenties, the other comforts him by saying that he still has a bright future and that one day he will become old. But if the person says that he is in his thirties, the other party immediately replies with deep respect: If the person you meet says, he's over 50, you immediately drop your voice in humility and respect. People in China look forward to the time when they can celebrate their 51st birthday. The 71st is even happier and grandier. A man who celebrates hi 81st birthday is looked upon as one especially favored by the heavens.So why fear and worry about getting old? The secret of a long life and aging is not to die!