What Does It Mean to Be Aged?

“OLD AGE ISN’T SO BAD WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE.”​—Maurice Chevalier.

THE aging process eventually affects everyone. It is inescapable. It begins almost imperceptibly​—a little ache here, a little wrinkle there, and a few gray hairs—​but eventually it engulfs a person in its unrelenting grip. Never in history have so many felt the effects of old age.

A major reason for the increase in the number of older ones is the success of medical science in controlling death-​dealing diseases. In the United States, for example, those over 65 represent about 12 percent of the population, and in Japan roughly 11 percent. Americans over the age of 85 increased from 700,000 in 1953 to 2.1 million in 1978. Indeed, about 50,000 Americans and some 3,700 Canadians are a hundred years old or older!

Although the aged are leading more productive lives than they did in the past, a person’s later years are invariably marred by a decrease in certain abilities. Hearing, vision, muscle tone, and mobility are all affected as one ages. Some older ones suffer loneliness and even senility. Others feel they are losing their attractiveness and become depressed.

Often it is how one adjusts to the process of aging that determines one’s happiness or lack of it. When someone says: “I’m too old to do that,” it is at times the attitude, more than anything physical, that closes the door to possible activities.

A youth showed considerable insight when he said: “Old, to me, seems anybody that has stopped living life to the fullest, anybody who doesn’t love and have fun with life anymore. It isn’t really possible to put an age on ‘old’ as there are teenagers who seem old, yet there are senior citizens who seem young.”

Aged Yet Happy and Content

For some the later years of life prove to be, in certain ways, golden years. These happy aged ones enjoy freedom from the pressures and restrictions of regular employment. For them old age means more time to enjoy their grandchildren. They realize that their happiness does not depend on what others think of them. They may feel freer to speak their minds, and they may be more relaxed and contented.

Furthermore, such ones may look beyond their personal needs and find joy in volunteering to help those in need. They assist the blind by reading to them, take orphans on trips, or help the disabled to feel better about themselves. Others learn new skills and do things they were not able to do while raising a family or making a living. The famed American painter Grandma Moses started her painting career in her late 70’s and completed 25 pictures after the age of 100!

Of course, one does not have to do unusual things to achieve joy. At the age of 86, a world-​famous stage actress commented: “I’m having the best time, now! So late? you wonder. The advantage of being at this point in my life is that I look neither back nor forward​—more than a few days at a time. I just enjoy now.” She added: “To feel really good about yourself, your life, you don’t have to make the front page or make a million dollars.”

Another advantage of being aged is the wisdom and experience that are usually acquired along the way. Do you appreciate these assets? One woman who does said: “I appreciate the wisdom I’ve attained over the years. Learning what’s really important has helped me cope with life’s problems. In fact, many younger women seek me out for advice. They usually say afterward: ‘I’m so glad I talked to you. I never thought of it that way before.’ I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I’m so thankful I can be of help, especially to younger ones.”

View of the Aged

At one time the aged were highly respected, and their advice was followed. In many lands this has changed. Now the aged are often ignored and even ill-​treated. This is sad, since the aged represent a rich resource of wisdom and experience that younger persons can tap to their advantage. Of course, this does not give a license for older ones to interfere in the lives of others.

Happily, in some cultures the aged are still given due respect. In Japan and most African countries, for example, they often remain the core of the family and tribal unit. In the Abkhaz Republic, Georgia, in the former Soviet Union, where people commonly live more than a hundred years, centenarians are respected by the younger generations. The word of the aged ones is often considered to be law within the family.

When youngsters tap this resource of wisdom, the family unit benefits. There can be a special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. It is through this affinity of the two age groups that children often learn patience, compassion, empathy, and respect for their elders. When they lose this contact, young ones can be adversely affected.

How Do They Want to Be Treated?

The aged want to be respected. They need to make decisions and feel that they are in charge of their lives. Although their physical abilities diminish with age, those who keep their minds active often remain sharp mentally. True, they may not think as rapidly as when they were younger or learn new things as fast. But they should not be pushed aside and their role in the family usurped, nor should others take over chores the aged would prefer to do for themselves. Doing this would frustrate and discourage them and make them feel inadequate and even useless.

Productive activity for the aged is vital; it helps give them a sense of worth. Significantly, centenarians in the Abkhaz Republic often have many daily chores to handle, such as working in the fields, feeding the poultry, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, and caring for small children​—all of which no doubt contribute to their longevity. Indeed, when the aged have meaningful work to do, they thrive. Why? Because they have a purpose in life.

Even when the aged are incapacitated by a stroke or other illness, they still want to be treated with dignity. They do not appreciate being talked down to or scolded like a child. If they cannot speak, they can usually hear, and their feelings are understandably sensitive. Sometimes, because of excessive medication, they may appear to be senile when in reality they are not. So empathy more than any other emotion can be the key to caring for them properly.

Since the aged may be confined to their homes, they need to feel they are not forgotten. They appreciate visitors. How sad it is when members of a Christian congregation fail to visit or call on incapacitated elderly members who in the past may have contributed significantly to the expansion of the Kingdom work! Really, such visits or phone calls take relatively little time and effort compared with the great benefit they can be to the elderly!

However, no matter how others treat them, much depends on how the aged view themselves. As a 75-​year-​old woman declared: “The thing that really keeps me going is always having something to do. I couldn’t function if I didn’t have plans and goals. Of course I have physical problems. But so do most people my age.”

The aged should avoid becoming chronic complainers and being uncooperative. This may not be easy to do when one is suffering. “Even though I have physical problems,” one elderly man said, “my ailments have not diminished my joy in living. I think attitude is all-​important. The experience of living all these years has been enriching to me. And I feel the key to staying young is to associate with young people. They benefit from my wisdom, and I tap their energy. You see, I’m really young at heart.”

What Can Be Done?

If you are young, do you need to improve your view of old age and your treatment of the elderly? If you are aged, why not ask yourself the questions outlined in the accompanying box? Are there things you can do to improve your situation?

If you answer all the questions in the affirmative, you will rarely lack friends, old or young. Others will naturally want to be around you. Best of all, you will enjoy your own company and find that life, at any age, can be interesting and full.

[Box on page 16]

Self-​Examination for the Aged

◻ Do I look to the future with hope?

◻ Am I still curious and eager to learn new things?

◻ Do I try to stay as active as possible?

◻ Do I take each day as it comes and make the necessary adjustments?

◻ Am I cheerful and encouraging around others?

◻ Do I try to maintain my sense of humor?

◻ In simple terms​—am I growing old gracefully?

[Picture on page 15]

Do you visit the elderly?