Thousand and One Great Things About Ageing

I read about a man who felt he was on the scrap heap at 66. He might well think that if he had paid attention to the indoctrination that went into destroying his preparation for his ‘retirement birthdate’ when he should have woken up and realised he was –

a) about to the reap the reward for how he had lived so far

b) able to make choices that are based on what he wants to do and on what makes him happy and satisfied

c) in a good place to take stock of all he had done and be proud that he had made it this far and was still reasonably bright, balanced, sane and not too contaminated by the idiots, the evil doers, interfering busybodies and the bigots who litter everyone’s path through life.

The images of ageing are incredibly demeaning and pernicious, not to mention wrong and short on truth and facts. I had a strong reaction of approval for my recent blog on ‘Computers replace the horses mouth’ where I wrote about the response of medics changing when they notice your date of birth that puts you into that age bracket that means, not cost effective to take serious steps to remedy or to enhance quality of life.

Sabina Brennan (@Sabina_Brennan) writes about and fights against the ‘stigma of ageing’ that many carry. Is it funny to mock the old, to talk to them like they are distracted children, to have such low expectations that society is surprised when an old person achieves something assumed to be beyond them?

Look at the actual road sign for old people that I used in the top left hand corner on the cover of one of my books. I used it as a contrast with the chap on the scooter who is the true symbol of the aged.

Which of the two represents your attitude to ageing?

I suspect the negative attitudes to ageing go back to the days when the old were expected to walk out of the tent and die to give more food and space to the younger members of the family. We moved on from that point. Dead parents littering the countryside is inconvenient. Instead, they are plonked on chairs to wait for the final reaper to do his job.

I was fortunate to have grandparents and parents who did not believe in old age being a time of sitting by the fire, whinging while they waited to head off to the after life. They believed in living life to the best of their ability long after the signal when old age is supposed to start. Of course they suffered from the wear and tear of a hard life and carried aches and pains that signalled heavy use of their bodies over time. Physical problems, often quite serious, were irritants that required adjustments. They were not obstacles blocking enjoyment of life, family and friends. I was lucky to have strong role models.

In their honour I am engaging on two fronts. The first one is to fight for dignity in the way we treat older people, on the grounds that they deserve our respect for all they can still give to the community and that they are entitled to as rich a life as they can manage.

My second task is to offset the negative publicity about ageing by compiling a list of 1001 Great Things About Ageing. Contributions are welcome if you have any suggestions, but most of the list is my own.

The problem with creating the list is making the time to add to it. I am kept busy with writing my books, delighting in grandchildren, blogging, meeting friends, travelling, cooking, exercising, reading, baking, taking part in on-line courses, mentoring, minding, coaching, supporting organisations and key leaders and finding new ways to learn and teach as well as meeting people from all over the world.

In fact, my work to build the list makes me realise that managing time is the great challenge.

But that’s a story for another day, if I can get round to it.