Are you afraid of Growing OLD???

Philippines
August 18, 2011 7:21pm CST
Yesterday afternoon while I'm on the bus and way to go home, I sit in front of an old man, he's seems in he's 70's, my father didn't reached that age coz he died when he's 50. When I'm staring at him I can see that it's getting hard to move when you're at this age, I'm on my 26 but I also feel some pains in my back, head, I can't read without my eyeglasses, so I was wondering how it feels when you were old? You can't work, will just stay at home the food to eat will be limited, nobody will recognize you sometimes, that makes me feel afraid. There's a joke I heard about that the hardest part of growing old is when you wake up in the morning and you'll see that somebody beside you is OLD. Sometimes I feel like I don't want to feel it or be just gone unknowingly. How About you guys, are you ready to grow old?are you afraid?
2 people like this
12 responses
@orang13 (723)
• Philippines
19 Aug 11
I dont know why, but i am not really that afraid to be old. I guess for me, i see my self reaching that age as a very successful person already. A person who have already done something in life. A person who have just accomplished his/her goals. A person who have fought all the struggles in life. Being old is the greatest price God had given to us. So are we afraid of it?
• United States
19 Aug 11
Yes that is right, but when you reach a certain age, that you can't do the same things as before and it starts taking away your freedom, that is the scary part for me.
• Philippines
19 Aug 11
You are right Orang! I would really be so thankful if I could reach that age. I could feel great pleasure seeing the next generation. =)
• United States
19 Aug 11
Growing old...yes its scary, the fear of having to depend on others because you are too old to do things yourself because you may "hurt" yourself...In reality, growing old is like becoming a baby all over again. Even the need to wear diapers arises. I just don't want to look at myself in the mirror and see myself like that. It really is a scary thing.
19 Aug 11
if you are so scared of becoming old, does it mean that you are welcome to dying young?....am just curious, friend;)
• United States
19 Aug 11
No, not too young, just old enough to have fully enjoyed my life, and young enough to never have to rely on others for everything so that my freedom can remain intact.
@Sanitary (3968)
• Singapore
23 Aug 11
Yes, i'm afraid of growing old, even more afraid than growing up. While we are growing up, we have parents to guide us, protect us till the day they are gone. When it comes to growing old, more than often, we are the only ones leaving to fend for ourself. Even we may have a partner to grow old with us, somehow the feeling is different from growing up. The feeling of growing old is catching up on me in 30-40years time, and i don't want to know how it feels.
26 Aug 11
Hi waterproofpaper,. Sometimes I am, but to think that we can't do nothing about it, I just don't mind it. Since its already part of our life cycle.
@shellani (61)
• Philippines
19 Aug 11
I am not afraid of getting old. The key here is to enjoy every chapter of your life. When you are a kid, you cry when you slip, or somebody get your food. When you are a teenager, you start to fall in love, body starts to grow and you are so aggressive in many things. When you are on your twenties, you are becoming mature enough to prepare for a family. When you are at the middle age, you are so inspire seeing your kids grow. When you are old, you have to retire, needs a lot of rest, and just enjoy looking at the new generation next to yours. Getting old is natural, you can't escape from it unless you die earlier. So Waterproofpaper, don't be afraid to grow old. I suggest you should invest the rest of your life to build a good relationship with your family so you won't be abandoned if you become old. I repeat, enjoy every chapter of your life. Go on with the flow. :D
• Philippines
19 Aug 11
Hello there. Getting old is one thing in life that we cannot escape.No matter what you'll do, you will get old. I am 23 years old and 20 years from now, I will be 43 years old. Though I am afraid of getting old, because when I reach that stage of life, I can no longer do the things that I can do when I am still young like gong to the place that I want to go since when we are younger, we cannot get tired easily. In short, when we get old, we can do only limited things that makes me sad. But contrary, in a positive side, I know that when I get old, I already experienced and accomplished my dreams such as :I think when I reached 43 years old, I already have 3 kids and a loving husband. I already gave my mom and dad their own house ( which I promised that i will give them )I am a successful career woman, i already traveled the different countries that I want to visit. And many more. Well, getting old is really a serious thing that we should prepare while we are still young. But we should not think of it negatively. I can see older people that are happy and contented with their life. So do not worry about it. When you reached the age of 70, you should be thankful of it because nowadays the life span of each person is shorter than that of peoples life span before. :-P
• Philippines
19 Aug 11
Thanks, yeah trying to be prepared but when I think that I am not yet done in accomplishing my dreams for my mother and family it adds a feeling of being frustrated, though the way from 26 to 70 is quite far, but we never know whats next that's why I wanted to do all I can before it gets late for me and cannot do it anymore.
@samrat16 (2442)
• India
19 Aug 11
Interesting discussion. well, all I can say is,yeah i don't want to get old because than it's going to be hard to eat a lot and not gain weight without having to exercise lol..jk ummmmm yes and no, yes because i plan on becoming a police officer so i need to be physically fit and healthy..this gets a bit tough as anyone that grows older..and no because it's the cycle of life ;)
@stanley777 (9402)
• Philippines
19 Aug 11
I think almost all of us have fears of growing old, because we have seen the difficulty of people who are old.It's good if there is someone in their family who will attend to him/her or care for them.But to think that when one gets old and become frail is really sad.Our body defenses from sickness will be weak.It's really a pity.
• Philippines
19 Aug 11
When I was younger the changes that I have notice taking place in people around me used to turn me off to the idea of growing old. As I mature as a person I have grown to accept this fact but If I can live it gracefully then why not go towards that direction? Yes there are things in me that change like I use to have a 20/20 vision but now it is not so. Back then I do not take my daily heart medications but right now it is a must.Inspite of all these things I still cherish the idea that I am maturing as an individual as I must.
@thetis74 (1525)
19 Aug 11
Oh goodness yes. I wish we don't get old. I am afraid that my children might not be there at least to take care of me. It's scary what life would be like. But we do get old whether we like it or not. We just need to prepare for that and just try our best to be healthy and live life to the fullest while we are young. Every one goes through that phase, I know, but it is still really scary.
@francesca5 (1344)
19 Aug 11
i think when we are young being scared of getting old is quite normal, and to some extent depends on the older people we know, or meet. there is an elderly lady who lives on the ground floor of the block of flats i live in, and i admire her a lot. i don't knwo exactly how old she is, as it would be rude to ask, but she still does her own shopping, her son comes round, and shes always cheerful. and i have a friend of 66 who is always very busy, she told me she recently went with a 91 year old friend to an art gallery! peoples experience of old age varies enormously, i think if you take care of yourself and have a positive attitude towards older people, it won't be so frightening. in a way we see what we look for. if you are looking for the frail elderly who seem unable to manage, you will find them, but if you look for older people who emjoy life, and are still active then you will see them too. it is very sad to hear about your father dying at such a young age, but hopfeully that won't be your experience too.
@airamtheb (370)
19 Aug 11
I am not afraid to get old, in fact, i am looking forward to getting old minus the crankiness and the wrinkles.Not everybody would get to reach that last stage of human development. Is it not interesting to be old when you would no longer wake up early in the morning and go to work yet you have your monthly pension.There is no more reason to be always in a hurry catching up time instead, to enjoy each moment of your time.It would be the time to look back and be grateful of all the things you have accomplished in your lifetime.Just dont count the losses or failures but be thankful for them because they have made you truly a mortal being.