The Pros And Cons Of Ageing

Improved Essays
When I first read this, I kept stopping after the first line thinking how we could consider the old dishonorable. They are weighted down with a life-long story, one that bears to be told no matter who they are or were. Seneca references how our age is all we have to show for our time here. I disagree, we leave behind the ability to share our stories, our battles and struggles or our loves of a life time. Our lives are a legacy to be told, the truth in this story is the sad events of those who’ve died anonymously. Everyone has a story, a legacy to leave behind to be told as it should. Our generations change and evolve every day, this is the start of a legacy. Modern day definition of legacy is one that we should not reference to, we should recognize …show more content…
They want to tell the same story, tell you how to live happy, but be ready for the rug to be pulled out. I am trying to look at this passage as a way to reflect on the blessings of growing older and the burdens of ageing can put on your loved ones. Chittister has a way with her words and making an impact on your thoughts and beliefs. I will say that she has a way of making you think about how in the last years we must learn to trust our family and friends to care for us, be ready to let the weakness of our bodies take over and understand that we must make peace with what God has planned for us in the next stage of our life. When we are young, we celebrate our birthdays with great joy of the new toys and such we will receive. In our teens to early adulthood we celebrate with the coming of age traditions such as learning how to drive, legally drink with our friends and the right to let our voices be heard with voting. Middle age we are busy finding our dream job, celebrate marriage and children and settle in to the family life. So why don’t we relish in the days of growing older and accept the blessing as a natural part of the purpose of …show more content…
Why are we so afraid? For me, I am afraid to be without my family or just leave my family behind without me. They can do it, I know they can, but I am fearful of not being there for each and every important second of their lives. I am 50 now, I don’t think I show my age and know that I need to do better by my body to extend my life as long as

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Henrietta Lacks Legacy

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There are various types of legacies, ranging from a pecuniary legacy to a reversionary legacy. In “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, Henrietta Lacks leaves behind a reversionary legacy, where an artifact is passed on and can be beneficial to others during their lifespan. A person who played a significant role in Henrietta’s Legacy was her daughter, Deborah Lacks. Lacks traveled throughout the country to learn about her mother’s contributions to science.…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Death is something that has crossed the mind of us all at one point or another. For some it crosses our mind as something tragic happens and has us questioning our own mortality. Others maybe more aware of their fragile mortality and wonder what happens beyond the grave. But something that is less thought of is what do those who we leave behind think of us. Once our bodies become one with the earth once again what is left of us.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Hi Elton: My Legacy

    • 82 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Hi Elton, I really like your thoughts. Yes, writing our legacy will help motivate us as educators, especially on a trying day. The writing of your legacy can also help you see where you are at as a teacher, what things you have accomplished, and what things you need to work on. The legacy we write, will help remind us, why we are doing what we are doing, and that is helping and educating kids. God bless, and best wishes to you.…

    • 82 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Joan Of Arc's Legacy

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages

    http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_faq.asp https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Joan-of-Arc https://www.biography.com/people/joan-of-arc-9354756 What Legacy is and when it is formed is essential to its meaning. When looking at the word legacy in a grammatical…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The scientific definition of aging is the deterioration over time resulting in physiological changes. Many evolutionary biologists believe that aging has nothing to do with genetics (Arking). Once, an animal serves its purpose it is able to die off. The purpose being to produce and raise offspring (Gilbert). This happens with many organisms like moths and salmon.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    All of this fear is from our unconscious, “in our unconscious mind we can only be killed; it is inconceivable to die of 1 a natural cause or of old age” (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, ). When a person dies, humans have a fear of burring them alive and that’s why when embalmers are embalming the body after death, they remove the blood from the vein and “chemical is injected…to dispel fears of live burial. How true; once the blood is removed, the chances of live burial are indeed remote.” (Jessica Mitford’s, ). Fear of death put on alert of it…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A legacy is your reputation, you build it up day by day so when you do leave or die everyone will remember you forever. Great legacies are hard to come by because one slip up here or there you have to start all over again. Sometimes if a slip up is bad enough there is no fixing your legacy. Like most people I hope my legacy will be of importance and make people want to be just like me and follow in my footsteps. There is one man that has strongly preached leaving a great legacy for myself.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Coming Of Age Traditions

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In your lifetime you will arrive at an age when you begin to think you are now an adult and have now reached a strong maturity level. That age is different for everyone and is defined by many different events such as a death, a party, a ritual and other life moments. In today's society, there is no reason to hold a traditional coming of age ritual. In modern times not everyone is brought up in a family that will supply a traditional celebration like a Quinceañera or a Bat or Bar Mitzvah and yet, people will still make it to the end of their road.…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In align to the productive aging assumption, that older Americans can and should work more, legislators have also shown their interest in rising the eligibility age as high as 70 for the Social Security benefits (Rho, 2010). However, a study by Anthony Bonen (nd) presented evidence that rejects the assumption that older Americans are physically and mentally capable to work for pay in their later life. Whilst, Johnson (2004, p.55) cautions that “policymakers should provide an adequate safety net for those adults whose demanding jobs and health problems force them to retire early”, Anthony (nd) stated that “now those adults represent, in fact, the bulk of older working Americans – it is not simply a matter of making special provision for an unlucky…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The author of "First Oration Against Catiline" is Marcus Tullius Cicero, and his entire speech is directed at Lucius Sergius Catilina (known in the piece simply as Catiline). Cicero's orations are a response to Catiline's conspiracy to overthrow Rome, and Cicero is in strong disagreement with this plan. Thus, Cicero's motivation in delivering the oration is the drive to thwart Catiline's plot and prevent future conspiracies in this vein. Cicero's main point in the "First Oration Against Catiline" is that Catiline has committed far too many crimes against the country and must receive a proper punishment: exile. Cicero reports that Catiline has now attacked the whole state openly and called for its destruction, so he must be punished, but…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    But why do we get so anxious about these birthdays, because society has told us to be this overly excited, there is no reason to not be this excited, but the amount of pressure to support these ideas by others is overly bearing. This goes to show how people from the past can affect our daily lives today. From the time we are born to the time we die we are set in motion by others, it is what we chose to do with our lives that will define us. In Harry Chapin’s song Cats in the Cradle he connects to the modern day father by…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Everyone has a story and almost everyone wants to leave some sort of a legacy — to be remembered for something meaningful. Our legacy is part of ourselves that, will be left in the hearts and minds of others. Some people leave a positive and inspiring legacy while some people willingly or not, leave a negative one. Nobody wants their existence to be lost to time. And just like everyone I wants to be remembered for the love and kindness I shared that has all become too scarce in today’s world.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The legacy that a person leaves behind is not based on material goods but, based on their character. Every person and every character leaves behind a different legacy. For instance, in the story a Rose for Emily the main character’s legacy was based on her secluded and unsure personality. Emily Grierson was a rich southern gentile who was raised to a higher standard than the people around her. Her father made her live a controlled and secluded life that set her up for what was to happen in the future.…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Comparison

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Booke The stories "The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson" and "The Wise Old Women" both support the universal theme that value is not found in your physical abilities. Both of these stories express the idea that our elders should not shunned or looked down upon, but praised for their wisdom and experience. In the story "The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson", an old man is treated like a nuisance by his very own son and daughter in law. They don't see how cruel and mean they are to the old man until their little son says that one day, he will take care of them, the same way they take care of his grandfather.…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing old, or older, is seen by some as a taboo in western culture (Zachrisson, 2013). Ageing is seen as a problem, and something that has to be avoided (Montepare & Lachman, 1989), despite the fact that a substantial increase in life expectancy, combined with medical advances, has led to an ageing population (Andrews, 2001). There are many views on what ‘successful ageing’ should look like, and many expectations are placed on older people to be successful in their later years (Bowling & Dieppe, 2005). Therefore, the claim that as we get older, our biggest challenges are the limits imposed by others’ perceptions of youth and old age, can be seen as a valid statement. This claim will be discussed in relation to midlife, intimacy in older adult…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays