The Old do give us something…

 

How does it feel to be old?

“Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

– The infamous monologue in ‘As you Like it’  by the                                                                               infamous playwright, William Shakespeare

My grandparents do not fear death. In fact, death is a solution to one and all of their miseries. What they fear is the idea of being dependent on others. Especially, on their closed ones. This stems into our toughly held belief that dependency is a weakness, an impuissance. Our ego balances itself on this notion, rendering us from asking or rather accepting any aid. When old age dawns and inabilities amass to prominence, there remains no act devoid of deterrence. Adding to this weight is the insecurity that the deteriorating health brings in. They know that things are going to worsen and they can, by no means alter this reality.

So they resort to fighting against it by becoming staunchly conventional; gripping onto those vices and virtues that they have mastered. They form a didactic, reserved and a hard-to-crack aura. We look up to them but we can never get to ‘know’ them. Many are of the opinion, that they are the weakest of the lot. They live a life of lies and are utterly meek and coward outside of their known zones.

In this case, most of the times, one does not really help them but rather help oneself from them. And when they tread out of their comfort zones we can, for their love’s sake, just pretend to ignore their fallacies and make their pretentious bubble stronger.

Next, we have the exact opposite type; they accept defeat. They willingly want to be dependent because they are tired of saving their self-esteem. Apathy is their biggest principle and selfishness their motto. The only way to get them out of this indifference is to show them that they aren’t that useless as they think. Even if they are of no genuine help to anyone, they could be made to feel worthy.

And finally we have a mix of the two; the diplomatic hypocrites. Like every other human, they are imperfect absolutes. They can neither be apathetic nor can they be completely on their own. They change their stance, almost always unknowingly, to have the greatest benefit of all. Because in the end, as Mr. W. Shakespeare calls it, it’s the second infancy. These people are highly meritorious when it comes to lighting up the already heated up mind to ashes. They are evaded by one and all and hence they are the most love-thirsty.

The remedy to all the three types is just one thing, and you guessed it perfectly right – LOVE! Today, each and every soul out there needs love to unfathomable limits but like children, oldies need a tad bit more adoration and affection. We might not get no time and no money in return. We might not even be appreciated. But we would learn to give selflessly. And once we learn this art, there is no way life can out beat us in ‘frigging’ any sphere and phase !