Adsactly reflection - YOUTH, DIVINE TREASURE
YOUTH, DIVINE TREASURE
Hello, dear readers. Today I wanted to leave literature to talk to you about an event that I witnessed today while traveling in a bus from my city. In the morning I went to the bank to resolve some formalities and as I was not in a hurry, I decided not to take a taxi. I believe that public transportation in most countries is chaotic, but I believe that in Venezuela it is more so. The detail is that while we were in the transport unit, I saw an old man trying to get on and he couldn't do it (obviously his bones wouldn't let him and the other passengers who wanted to get on either), but nobody tried to help him. In that, the driver started the bus and left the old man stranded at that stop. And although all the passengers protested the action, the driver accelerated without remorse.
This morning's action has left me thoughtful all day, especially since I not only have an elderly mother, but I hope to get there someday. This fortuitous event made me realize that in many countries of the world, old age is one of those stages that nobody wants to talk about and nobody wants to be in. To be old, for some western cultures, unfortunately, is synonymous with ugly, useless and incapable. This was not always the case.
We know from history that in Sparta, which was a warrior society, men over the age of 60 were relieved from the army and went on to deal with order. Power was in the hands of the elders because they had accumulated the most experience. The same happened in the Roman Empire, where all power was concentrated in the Senate, formed by elders. They were in charge of administration, justice and diplomatic relations. The privileges of the elders were enormous, and the lower classes of society considered them wise and virtuous. Perhaps it would have been good to live at that time.
But we are in the 21st century and in this century other things are valued such as beauty, youth, physical and mental agility, qualities perhaps that are lost over the years. We see how each day it becomes more difficult for people to assume their age, the passage of time, wrinkles in the skin. A natural process such as aging has become a tragedy in our societies full of stereotypes and banalities. Today's society magnifies youth, but does not do the same with old age. In this way, some people deny aging and try to stay as young as possible, especially in physical appearance.
And if there's one thing a man is afraid of, after death, it's getting old. That's why every day more and more people become addicted to plastic surgeries or that the market of cosmetics and food that promote eternal youth, earn millions of dollars annually selling treatments for the face, body, hair, injections. Brands that not only sell beauty but also youth and energy.
A recent study by a British organisation called HelpAge found out which countries were worth ageing in and where the rights of the elderly were respected. According to this research paper:
The country in the world where older people live best is Norway, followed by Sweden, which was the leader in 2013. In third place is Canada, followed by Switzerland and Germany. The Netherlands ranks sixth and the United States eighth. All the top 10 countries, with the exception of Japan (9), are located in Western Europe, North America and Australia.
But they don't just talk about the best, they also mention which countries treat their elders worse:
Afghanistan is the country that offers the worst conditions for the elderly.
Nearby are Mozambique (95), Tanzania (92) and Uganda (89).
Beyond this study, it is known that the elderly in Eastern countries have a very different consideration from that of Western societies. China and Japan are two of the cultures where older people are most respected and venerated. For example, in Japan, each year they honor their elders with a very special day, called the Day of Respect for the Elderly, Keirô no hi. It is a national holiday and is celebrated on the third Monday in September. In it they remember the importance of this sector of the population and its contribution to society. Hence, perhaps we should not be surprised by the life expectancy of the Chinese and Japanese, which is that it should be pleasant to reach an advanced age and be loved and respected by the environment. Who would want to die like that? Very different is the situation of the elderly in many countries who are abandoned and ignored like little animals without an owner. Surely many of them will look up at the sky begging for a quick death.
Although many say that we should live regardless of age, it is inevitable not to stop to think about it. To my sadness, in the HelpAge study, Venezuela ranks last among Latin American countries and is one of the countries that treats its elderly the worst.
With this I can not only stop thinking about the old man who wanted to get on the bus and couldn't, my mother, me and all of us who will be old at some point.
The title of this post is part of some verses by the great modernist and Nicaraguan poet, Rubén Darío, that say: YOUTH, DIVINE TESORO, YA TE VAS PARA NO VOLVER. Maybe that's where our problem lies: trying to stop the unstoppable. To grow old happy should be the norm, to be respected and admired for the experience that has been accumulated. Just as children know who loves them, so are the elderly. Let us not be responsible for their sorrows.
Thank you for being there. I invite you to join our server in discord and vote for @adsactly as a witness. Until the next smile. ;)
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2014/10/140930_ranking_paises_personas_mayores_en
https://losargonautas.org/2016/12/a-proposito-del-keiro-no-hi/
WRITTEN BY @nancybriti
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Your reflection, said metaphorically, touches the marrow of our contemporary Western civilization, @nancybriti. In it, unlike earlier moments of our civilization or in contrast to the ancestral Eastern civilization, old age has been displaced as a state of value; not only marginalized, belittled, but even mistreated, as you testify in your anecdote; instead, as a triumphant state, youth has been placed on a pedestal, in a dangerous overestimation. I remember that a very appreciated author referred, to explain this predominant reality, to psychiatrist James Hillman, who alluded to the principles of the "puer" and the "sennex" as psychological archetypes: the first of energy and dynamic intelligence, and the second, as that of reflection and the deep self. It seems that our civilization has come to suffer from the "puer aeternus" disease. Thank you for your sensitive post, @nancybriti, and @adsactly for spreading it.
It's unfortunate to have to witness events like the one you count on, @nancybriti. And in our country it is very sad the treatment that the elderly receive in all areas of our society. To grow old in Venezuela is a story of terror, it is common and daily to see the old people standing in long lines in the banks to collect the pension they earned during years of service to the country and to buy food and medicine. Older adults should be given special treatment, respect and consideration in the last years of their lives. I believe that Venezuela is the only country in the world in which the elderly are treated as the waste of humanity, without taking into account the experience and wisdom that they keep in their being. I hope with faith that this situation will change soon and that when I reach old age it has been worth staying in my country. Thank you for these reflections, @nancybriti and @adsactly for sharing them.
Very interesting your reflection @nancybriti. Aging is part of the process of learning to live. Unfortunately, in Venezuela, reaching old age gives terror.
I have had the opportunity to travel and public transport in Argentina, for example, is very good. There, children from an early age are educated to get up from their seats when an older person enters the bus. Almost all the kids in the school get up like springs from their seats when the bus starts to fill up and obviously very old people will get there.
I have also been to Germany and public transport and other services are suitable for the use of elderly people. Reaching old age in Germany should not be as torturous as it is in Venezuela.
I hope that many people continue to write on this subject because the people who inhabit this planet need to be sensitized about the fact that we will one day become old and that we will need to be well served.
Thanks @nancybriti
Thanks @adsactly
Great post..
full of wisdom lesson.
As we knew growing old is a necessity that cannot be denied. all who are born and live will go through their old age. Being old is a nature that cannot be resisted, no matter how hard we try to hold our bodies old with a variety of efforts ranging from serum injections to plastic surgery as you explain.
more important is how we can grow up in thought. Maturity that along with age will certainly be better than just thinking about losing your beauty and youth.
And for those of us who are young, we should put respect for the older ones. It is from them that we can learn a lot about wisdom and will guide youth's journey in a better direction. Use their experience and take lessons so that we can use good and bad things to avoid
Thank you @nancybriti
Thank you @adsactly
Thank you Steemit for your knowledge sharing
warm regard from Indonesia