A Commentary on the Preparation for Old Age

Abstract

We are living in a rapidly changing world. Man is entering a new dimension of human experience. While science is probing the vastness of outer space, the innermost recesses of man are being examined with an exactness that promises an astonishing perception of the mechanology of living processes. From this significantly fresh knowledge, a new kind of human being is emerging. He is potentially a stronger, more superior product who is living longer and staying young longer. Old age is not a disease. It is a time of decreasing strength and increasing limitations. Age is not something that appears suddenly, and then should be arranged for and met. It is not a question of years, but of effectiveness. The whole of life should be a preparation for this process.Meeting life with its limitations, inevitabilities and disappointments courageously, effectively and successfully, is a preparation for aging. Persons who throughout their lives have had active interests and curiosity, have carried responsibility, and have cooperated with others, have learned to meet old age in advance.Senescence, therefore, is not just a matter of the pliability of blood vessels and the vitality of cells. It is also a question of the flexibility of the personality.The unhappy and discontented person finds life a burden a t any age. How does one keep a personality vital? One cultivates continuous and changing interests, shares those interests, participates in activities with others, discovers new areas of usefulness while still developing the old and, above all, learns the healing value of human interest in another being. Many persons who reach the age of 65 are unprepared for what science has given them-a longer life with better health. Many are unable to relax and to play for play's sake, i.e., for the sheer pleasure and enjoyment of it. They have an irresistible compulsion for work, an enhanced sense of time urgency, and a feeling of guilt towards resting. They need to be prepared for leisure. Today, education is for life on the job, but more and more we need education for life off the job so that we can derive the most from our leisure. Those who have really learned to live will be less likely to run into difficulties as they grow older. The aging segment of our population represents a physiologic, chemical and psychologic challenge to all physicians. We should be prepared to meet that challenge.