If You Think You Are Considered Old But Refuse To Be Entirely Sure

It’s that segment of Western societal living that sets impossible age-defying standards. The whole thing is ridiculous and then worrisome, and then at the top of the priority list.

During our youth, we go through every tactic imaginable to look older and more mature. But as the birthdays roll by, the obsession with not looking older despite the fact we’re aging takes center stage.

Remember as kids when we thought thirty was old?

Senior citizens are respected members of society who built the foundations of blah-blah-blabbity-blah rings hollow when the sheer volume of marketing and advertisements promoting serums, addressing male pattern baldness, coloring grays, and addressing male erectile dysfunction is staggering.

What is so wrong with getter older?

Nothing.

“As long as you don’t look/act like it,” Western society says. And if you feel the pressing need to talk about it, here’s a product/service to make that go away.”

End of discussion.

Subtle.

Commercials have managed to broach the topics of hearing loss, urinary incontinence, and insurance policies covering funeral plans.

None of this is trending.

Of course, it isn’t! It’s downright depressing when viewed through a tapered lens of ‘everything exuberant and aesthetically pleasing’ print and digital media!

But there are lessons in society’s sneaky ways.

Aging is an inevitable process for every living organism. So, since it’s a no-brainer that senescence (aging) is an unchanging aspect of life, perhaps other aspects of life can be changed to impact the aging process. Cue the anti-wrinkle creams, fitness classes, and the like. These influences are having more than just a surface validity type of impact. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking better care of ourselves as we get older, so the question becomes, why don’t we?

A 2020 Aging Data Sheet compiled by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis confirms that the sixty-somethings of today are quite different from those of a century ago.

As countries contemplated the old-age dependency ratio to plan for the economic security of their communities so there wouldn’t be a substantial unemployed dependant elderly relying on the labor of a minimum of young twenty and thirty-somethings, people started living and working longer.

Mandatory retirement ages have, in many instances, been taken off the table, recalculated, and renegotiated. It’s euphoric for populations to shift a dynamic in such a major way since there is an aging population trend.

And a segment of that adult population found that along with other factors, taking care of their health, fitness, and wellbeing meant that being a grandparent did not mean looking like one, at least not the silver-haired diminutive typecasts of yesteryear. It has all the makings of a win-win situation except maybe the lack of an unbiased perspective in an industry profiting from unhealthy obsessions of eternal youth.

It is beneficial to live our best selves in our 40’s, 50’s and beyond, but a positive perspective on senior life has wide-ranging benefits as well.

Examination of the obstacles experienced in later years can allow for more empathy and compassion in how our seniors are treated within our communities. When we keep in mind that given time, as we keep living, we will all be seniors. Improving access to activities that support less sedentary lifestyles can encourage participation, keeping seniors independent and functional vibrant members of humanity.

Recognizing the wealth of wisdom this seasoned generation possesses may prove to be the restraining hand keeping the world from its descent into a less compassionate place. Placing that wisdom into a residential care facility speaks volumes to the way that communities have de-evolved leaving families with limited options in caring for those who cared for them. While it is understood that assisted facilities can have a support role to play in our communities, a paradigm shift can see them being the exception rather than the rule.

Changing our own perspectives on aging as adults can transition our language and outlook on seniority, bringing healthier attitudes to a younger generation.

As with all things learned by socialization, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors can be put to the test to assess their validity and push back the stereotypes and biases hiding in plain sight. Think getting older means losing your independence and mobility? Inevitable cognitive decline, stroke, heart disease, and cancer? There are communities of elders raising the bar so high on healthy longevity, it has become hard to see; so gerontology researchers had to get involved.

Globally recognized ‘blue zones’ such as Okinawa’s Ogimi island; home to 15 centenarians and 171 people in their nineties out of a population of 3,000. Positive lifestyle choices ingrained within the community allow residents to keep active and work in the fields daily without degenerative illnesses observed as commonplace in many western societies.

One interviewed resident had still been climbing fruit trees in her nineties. Another martial arts practitioner with one of the highest karate ranks in Japan was still actively practicing the form in his eighties. Throughout the islands of the Okinawan archipelago, the life philosophy and culture are the same. There is no word in the language for retirement.

And in Ikaria, Greece there are similar accounts with 80% of eighty-year-olds still working and engaged in gardening for their own food provision and consumption. Residents are not only healthy but maintain a high level of mental acuity in senior years that is enviable.

This story repeats in Sardinia, Italy, Nicoya, Costa Rica, and Loma Linda, California. Not only a message but clear set examples for us on aging:

Stop doing it wrong!

So if you feel conflicted about whether you should be considering yourself a senior citizen because of societal standards but you don’t think you are. Or feel that you are and don’t want to be, go with that. It’s a pivotal moment of clarity to remind you to live and embrace a healthy life, remembering that you get to define how the world will see you.