Day #10 Are you afraid of aging? Why?

Aging.
Raise your hand if you want to age!
Yeah, that's what I thought. Keep your hand at your side, because if you don't, you're a liar!
Honestly though,  if you asked anyone that question,  all of them  would keep their hands down--and for many reasons.

Why don't we want to age? Why are we afraid?


Basically, we associate aging with dying. That's right. We think that getting older means we're getting  closer to our own coffin. We look at an elderly person and we automatically think "Oh God, they're gonna die soon."  But I don't agree with that! Dying is inevitable! It will happen, no matter how old we are, and it can happen anytime. Getting older is a blessing. It means that you lived and that you are still living. It is an achievement! Each year you get older you should be thanking God. Aging is simply a measurement of how long you've held on to life and should be celebrated.

Am I afraid of aging?
Well, yes. I believe there is no way to keep people from fearing that. People fear aging--but I fear it for more reasons besides death.

Getting old means your body gets old. You get weaker. Your  body starts "settling down" as I call it. It's not the same as when you were young! You don't have to be a high stamina, angstey teenager anymore. Your body is settling down and preparing to raise and guide other generations.  But it still hurts. It's sad, not being able to do what you want to do with your own body anymore. Aging comes with a price.

Another thing I fear is being forgotten. You see all these elderly people in assisted living or nursing homes and you think "Dear God, that must be miserable." They sit in there all day, swept aside by society. Society wants to forget them because it fears them because society fears death.   I don't want to be forgotten. I want to be known.  I really want people to know I exist, and I don't want to take crap from anyone. I want to be that old person who says "Don't start feeling bad for me. I earned my way here and I'm proud of it. I've taken good care of myself to get to the age I am today." I honestly will fight against going to a nursing home tooth and nail.

I also semi fear loosing my mind and getting senile. I'm pretty sure i'm going to be  kooky when I'm older. But, I'm kind of kooky now, so maybe nothing will change.

There are plusses to being older though, that people forget to mention.
You get wiser. You've learned the ropes of life from experience! You've seen things that younger generations haven't seen! You become a resource because you know "history" because you experienced it first hand! And, my favorite: YOU CAN BOSS PEOPLE AROUND. You want a glass of water? You tell someone to get one for you and they do. You want to watch your favorite movie? By golly, you get to watch it! If you want it, you boss people around because they respect you and they'll hook you up with what you want.