BEING ALIVE TO LOVE OUR AGE

By Ryhaan Shah

“I love living. I love that I’m alive to love my age. There are many people who went to bed just as I did yesterday evening and didn’t wake this morning. I love and feel very blessed that I did.” This is a quote from American poet Maya Angelou.
There are other statements that laud old age as a privilege and a triumph and note that not everyone has the good fortune to experience growing old. And being old is not a downhill journey or battle by any means if we keep to a proper diet and exercise regimen, have an active mind, a good social life, and take our prescribed medications if necessary.
The ageing process is a gradual, lifelong development typically categorised into stages based on age and functional independence: young adulthood (18-29), middle adulthood (30-45), middle-to-late adulthood (40-65), and older adulthood (66 plus). These stages involve gradual physical changes, such as decreased muscle density and skin elasticity, alongside social shifts as we retire and no longer have a regular work schedule and workplace interaction.
Research shows that we often start to feel a decline in physical energy as early as our late 30s to early 40s. Referred to as the “fatigued 40s”, this is generally when our body’s natural processes start to slow down and recovery time begins to get longer.
This is when we get that middle-age spread because our metabolism slows down and our muscle mass starts to diminish. It is also when we might begin to lose visual sharpness and would need glasses. Some might notice some hearing loss as well, especially of high-frequency sounds.
The second wave of ageing occurs in our early 60s when the loss of our muscle mass becomes significant, especially if we are not exercising regularly. This, too, is when the daily fatigue and stress from work and family responsibilities can become harder to shake off.
We could also start to experience hair loss – both men and women – and notice other signs of ageing, like the loss of the skin’s elasticity, which results in wrinkles and crepe-y skin. At this age our bone density starts to drop, and this could result in a little loss of height.
While retirement provides freedom to pursue personal hobbies and passions, it could also come with age-related conditions, most of which can be treated to ensure a continued healthy and long life. Type 2 diabetes can be treated and even reversed with proper diet and exercise.
Ageing stiffens our arteries and could slow down our heart rate at the same time as our lung elasticity decreases. The risk of cardiovascular issues like a stroke or a heart attack increases, especially if we are not paying attention to our overall health.
While the health risks increase with the physical shifts that we undergo as we age, growing old is not all negative. It is a profound privilege and an opportunity for deep, authentic freedom. Instead of viewing ageing as a decline, we can embrace it as the accumulation of life experiences.
Many of us welcome the freedom from seeking external validation through, especially, career goals and ambitions. Growing older gives us an unapologetic confidence, and we find that we no longer feel the need to please everyone and that we can now do exactly what we want without the need for explanations or caring too much about societal expectations.
We know that our body is changing, but we do not have to let age define our capabilities. Accepting the inevitability of change allows us to enjoy the present and do whatever it is that brings us joy.
There is wisdom in the advice that we should stop focusing on what we are losing and express gratitude, instead, for the strength and resilience that have kept us well. Life changes are inevitable and normal; they are part of the rich tapestry of life.
This is the time to not only enjoy the memories of times past but also understand that there is time still to make new memories.
Maya Angelou was 60 when she wrote her poem entitled “On Ageing”. It is written from the point-of-view of an older person asking everyone to treat her normally. The poem rejects pity, unwanted help, and the assumption that she needs saving.
It ends with the lines, “I’m the same person I was back then/A little less hair, a little less chin/A lot less lungs and much less wind/But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in?” She took her last breath at age 86.