Why is it in this country we value old things so much, but we don’t value or honor aging? From old or ‘vintage’ toys to cars and furnishings, we believe these things have indelible value, even when they are falling apart. For instance, an antique table, a rocking chair, or Grandpa’s 1950′s Oldsmobile. People are willing to spend thousands of dollars on things in the name of being “antique”, yet, when it comes to humans, we don’t value age, we don’t honor elderly people much anymore in this country. Most young people today don’t extend a helping hand to the elderly, whether it be opening the door for them, or helping them across the street, when this is easy enough to do. Women (not exclusively, but predominantly) are willing to spend their life savings, should they be lucky enough to have “disposable money” stashed away, on whatever fad they can to avoid “looking old”. A nip here, a tuck there, or weekly Botox on the face, to the tune of thousands dollars! For what? So, they don’t have to see themselves aging, and maybe the rest of the world won’t notice either? How sad is that? We don’t respect the value in aging, we don’t recognize that lessons along life’s path, however good, bad, painful or subtle, are directly related to shaping who we are and how we “show up in life”. What about our kids? What will we teach them about aging? What will or do we tell them when it is obvious to them, we are aging? Afterall, even they will have to face it one day themselves. It’s worth a little thought, it’s worth consideration.
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Food For Thought About How We Look At Aging…