My sister died of colon cancer at the age of 59. Though young to die, she was old enough of a woman to have known common household tasks. Sadly, aside from her fetish of keeping the house very clean, she knew not much for a woman her age.
The father of a friend is 94 years old. When we met more than a year ago, I swear he could not have looked more than 60. Aside from glaucoma, he is as hale as a 50 yr old guy, still has well-manicured fingernails and knows the names and whereabouts of all his children from four wives (I ventured not, however, to ask just how many children he has).
A Google word search will reveal how fascinating the subjects of “aging” and “growing old” are to a lot of people.
On aging and growing old (some parts from Wikipedia):
Typically, “growing old” always elicits images of hospitals, diseases, disabilities, hearing loss, dementia, etc. On the other hand, “aging” brings to mind anti-aging pills, health diets, skin care products, pleasure cruise and the like. While both are a million-dollar industry, the former is focused on alleviating pain and suffering while the latter is to prolong the enjoyment of life.
In the real sense:
Growing old is simply getting on in years. It is a natural and mandatory process. It is when our skin begins to sag, wrinkles and laugh lines become permanent fixtures on our faces; we become weak and, ruefully, we, oftentimes, are considered “a burden” to our families.
It is that time in our lives when our natural levels of high growth hormone (HGH) go down as our age go up. If these things worry you and wear you down, then you are growing old.
Always great to be young - even at heart
If NOT, then you are just…
Aging, in humans, is not directly age-related. It refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological and social changes. Some dimensions expand and grow over time, while others decline. The decline in physical reflexes may be compensated by speed of reason brought about by the accumulation of knowledge through the years. Some researches have shown that the potential for physical, mental and social growth and development still exists despite advancing years. It is an important part of all human societies not only in reflecting biological changes that occur but also in the changes of cultural and societal conventions.
The term “aging” is taken by some as ambiguous. Age change is called “universal aging” while changes to some but not to others is called “probabilistic aging.” Then there is “social aging,” “chronological aging,” etc.
Simply put, the changes in every aspect of our lives as we accumulate years constitute the entire spectrum of aging. Had we changed not, then we simply lived, did not have a life.
Tags: aging, family, google, growing old, health and fitness
