The quest to understand the nature of aging, and the corollary quest to avoid growing old dates back to at least biblical times, when the elderly King David was advised to allow a young virgin to warm him.Chinese history from about 230 BC also recorded the search for the fountain of youth when Shih Huang Ti longed for longevity, had a massive tomb built for himself and filled it with all his earthly treasures, including his wives, concubines and loyal officials.
In the 3rd century, Taoist philosophers recommended ingesting cinnabar, the toxic ore of mercury, a prescription which had ended more lives rather than prolonging them.
In the search for longevity, sages, snake-oil medicine men, alchemists etc from all continents had had their hey days.
Today, cosmetic companies join in the race and rake in millions from their high pitch sales of all sorts of "age erasers," not to mention, pharmaceutical companies and also cosmetic surgeons.
Are longer lives necessary ? ( By the way, you have to grow old in order to live long ! )
How would future generations fare in a world where the elderly, no matter how beloved, refuse to depart or having been forgotten to be recalled by the Maker?
On one low key morning, Yours Sincerely ( Y S ) was on the tread mill and his mind started to roam. It dawned upon Y S that all those exercises, if they were going to add on to his years of living on this planet, would finally be a disservice for him since inevitably living the old age years could be very scary. daunting, lonesome and painful, too.
Who is going to care for me if the spouse goes first ?
What is the cost of a good "sunset home" ?
What about the escalating cost of geriatric care ?
Who would visit me ?
What if I lose my memory?
Oh, I hate "pampers"!!!
Many agree that exercise naturally induces many of the anti-aging mechanisms that scientists have been trying to understand through their studies of hormone supplements, caloric restriction, and longevity genes like age-1.
Exercise builds up muscles and burns fat, makes the heart and lungs work more efficiently, lowers the concentration of sugars circulating in the blood that can gum up the body's system, increases the flow of thought-provoking blood to the brain, and makes the bones stronger and more dense.
Well, Y S thinks that while we need to exercise on, we also have to accept the secret to aging well and that is to find a graceful balance between trying to stay young and accepting the ephemeral nature of life.
Age on ...... Life is " g o o d."
3 comments:
You said it.. aging gracefully. But we must continue to exercise also so that we do not become a burden for those around us.... and hopefully we go in a jiffy!
Young or old, we all die!
AJ 7, yes, u hit the nail on its head. Let's maintain whatever that is left until its expiry date.
footiam, the two sure things in life happen to be INCOME TAX and DEATH !
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