Our older friends

Introduction

Our older friends tell us that when you're old, you get sick. They describe how they feel and tell us about the various ailments they suffer from because of their advancing years. They talk about how their hearts aren't as strong as they used to be or how they have trouble walking because their joints ache so much. They also complain about their poor eye sight and hearing which makes it difficult for them to do simple things like read or watch television without having to get help from someone else. So is this really just what happens when we get old? Or is there more than meets the eye?

Yet, is it really surprising that we should so readily accept the 'old' view of getting old? Our older friends and relatives, openly tell us of all the ailments that they now suffer from as a consequence of their old age. We frequently hear about their bad back, aching joints and fading eye sight. They complain on numerous occasions that their hearing isn't quite what it used to be and their not as quick or as strong as they were when they were a 'wee nipper snapper'.

The media is full of stories about old people, who are often portrayed as being sick, slow and not as smart as they used to be. We see this in the way that older people are portrayed on television and in film. The media makes us think that young people are healthy, fast and smart—which means that it's easy for us to accept the 'old' view of getting old.

But if we look at the facts about aging, we can see that the reality is very different from what we're told by our older friends and relatives:

The media does little to disprove this theory either, by favoring youth and making the world seem like it belongs to the young. Advertising also generally celebrates youth and uses it to front the majority of their campaigns. So its little wonder that we view old age in the way that we do.

You would be forgiven for thinking that our collective views about aging are somehow based on scientific fact. However, research indicates that this is not the case. In fact, it seems we hold an overly negative view of aging thanks to a combination of the media, advertising and social constructs in our society.

The media does little to disprove this theory either, by favoring youth and making the world seem like it belongs to the young. Advertising also generally celebrates youth and uses it to front the majority of their campaigns. So its little wonder that we view old age in the way that we do.

But how did these ideas become so pervasive? How did they come into being? Is there any truth behind them?

I would like to suggest an alternative view on ageing. This alternative view suggests that getting older is more about becoming wiser and better adjusted than it is about getting sicker and slower!

Many people are afraid of growing old because they associate it with a downward spiral of illness, loss, and deterioration. Recently I had an experience that helped me challenge this ageist misconception:

My grandmother passed away recently at the age of 91. Throughout her life she lived independently in her own home until only a few years before her death when she moved into assisted living accommodation with 24-hour care provided by staff working in shifts around the clock. The last two years of my grandmother’s life were difficult ones because she became increasingly frail as well as having some dementia issues which meant she needed extra help beyond just medication management tasks such as taking her temperature etcetera. After spending time with my grandmother during those difficult days I realised something very important – that getting older doesn’t mean you become dependent or helpless; instead it means being able to rely more on others for support when needed!

In other words getting older is about your continuing development rather than regression or decline!

Our older friends are the people who have walked a long journey in their lives and have experienced many things. They have learnt from experience, developed new skills and abilities, kept on learning new things and continue to develop themselves every day. In other words getting older is about your continuing development rather than regression or decline!

The importance of learning from experience:

We learn from experience what works for us and what doesn’t work for us in life. For example if you eat too much sugar then you get a sore tummy so that when you see someone else eating lots of sweets in the future, you will remember how bad it felt last time so that next time you do not repeat those actions again!

The need to develop new skills:

As we get older we tend to take more responsibility for ourselves which means we need more skills in order to do this successfully without making any mistakes along the way. For example if there is something wrong with your car then it’s up to YOU (the driver) - not somebody else - but YOU as an adult driver who has been driving for many years now (or even just months) so therefore knows what needs doing when fixing something wrong with their vehicle! This could include anything from changing tyres; changing spark plugs; tightening nuts etc… If we don't know how these things work properly then they won't work properly either which means wasted money spent unnecessarily on getting them fixed professionally at garage etc..

Getting old doesn't have to be a bad thing!!

When you get old, it can be a hard process. It's not easy to have your body change and become frail and weak. But with the right mindset, you can make getting older more of an adventure than a burden.

In this article, I'm going to teach you how to make the most of your new life as a senior citizen!

Conclusion

So, if you want to age gracefully, then don't let the media dictate your view on old age. Instead, think about what it was like when you were younger and realize that getting older is just another stage in life. As long as we take care of ourselves and our bodies to maintain their optimum performance level then there really should be no reason why getting older can't be an enjoyable experience!