Voices: Have Courage! -An Elder’s Perspective on Aging

Photo by Jose Luis Reyes

Old age is not a disease. If you have reached this stage, take courage as not everyone is given that privilege. 

Many people may have not had the gift of ‘aging’. I have been given that privilege and I have chosen to embrace it. As an aging 90-year old woman — wife, mother to 7, grandmother to 16, and great grandmother to 2 — I realise that strength fails as time goes by. Pain and immobility strike without warning. Sometimes, I don’t even have the energy to carry on throughout the day nor the memory of what I enjoy doing. Nevertheless, my desire to continue living this ‘final act’ of my life story stands as I reflect on what friends and family have taught me: that true beauty is inside us, human relationships are our source of strength, and old age can be an opportunity for others to be of service and show compassion.

“True beauty is inside us, human relationships are our source of strength, and old age can be an opportunity for others to be of service and show compassion.”

Yes, decline of spirit may happen, but only if we allow it. Take courage; life is still worth living. So to the old and not so old, here are some thoughts I wish to share.

Photo by Kelly Macatangay

First leave the door to your heart open; don’t lock out the world. Let people see you and talk to you even if you can’t always hear them or understand what they’re saying. 

Second, focus on enjoying people and not indulging in material things, which end up being clutter that your family will have to dispose of when you are gone. 

Third, smile when your children act as if they are your parents. This takes humility, but it’s an opportunity to cherish their love and concern for you. 

Lastly, live a full life by being grateful for your years of wisdom. The senior citizen card is a status symbol of great dignity. Carry it proudly! We are keepers and transmitters of knowledge of what it means to be human. Passing on that knowledge by the way we live is the greatest legacy we give to our young.

Although my head is grey, my heart is young. And more often than not, I greet each day with delight.

 Carrie R., 90, Manila, Philippines