Facing the Reality of Ageing and Dying
As we age, we face the prospect of our own death, and while some see ageing as a mere passing of time until death others do not. We can choose to see ageing is an important period of time during which we begin to make peace with ourselves and those around us. Jung saw it as a process where we draw away from the physical world and the conquering of externals to an inner process of “unifying the opposites”. For those who are spiritual, they see this time as a gradual spiritualization of consciousness. For those who are not spiritual, we see this time as facing the reality of ageing and dying.
Coming to terms with our own ageing and dying is a long process and for many of us, it starts in our late 60's as we remember friends and family in too many celebrations of life. Regardless of how liberated we have become, many both, women and men, still experience ageing as a threat to their sense of self-worth and quality of life.
There appear to be three major requirements of successful ageing – accepting the ageing process and the fact we will die, and not accepting what we can change.
Most of us generally do not start or achieve resolution of this task until well into our 70s. Some never do. Sadly, those who do not accept the reality of ageing and dying, face an increasingly sorrowful old age filled with regrets and grief. They may spend a king’s ransom to see a younger face in the mirror each morning, but no amount of anti-aging potions, injections and surgery can retard the progress of ageing – only the appearances of ageing.
Those who have successfully can understand the two requirements may grow ageless in their outlook. Moreover, they discover that the last quarter of life is not as miserable an experience as they might have anticipated at age 40.
Attitude plays an enormous role in how we age. Much of the decline that people experience with ageing comes about due to the belief that decline in function and quality of life is part of ageing. It is not, many of my Health and Wellness Seminars are spend with seniors, trying to help them understand what is normal ageing and what is not normal.
In addition, many of the problems of age may not due to the process of ageing itself, but rather due to the effects of a lifetime of stress and poor health habits.
It is never too late to change the two most important ingredients to graceful ageing; attitude and lifestyle.
One benefit of reaching an understanding that as you age, you will die, sooner rather than later, is an almost adolescent feeling of being beyond harm’s way. Abraham Maslow saw this arising from a lifestyle in which “A day is a minute, a minute is a day.” Life is a series of moments, that as we age, we hold more precious. It’s about living in the moment in a constructive, positive and healthy way.
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Articles from Royce Shook
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