Happiness & Success 33

In highly industrialized nations like the USA or Europe, the elderly are sent to Homes for the Aged, if their families can afford to keep them there. They can no longer be as busy as those who are still young and active. Aside from this reason, why are they sent there ? Is it because their lives are less productive than most people who are in their working ages ? Are they burdens of society ? Why is it that there are those elderly who have proven themselves to be very productive and are supporting a lot of people who need help ?

Perhaps one of the characteristics of the elderly that is not acceptable to most people is their complaining attitude after being affected by multiple stress factors. Life for them has become limited to their way of looking at circumstances. They are no longer open to changes or views of other people that can lead to positive changes. Their tendency is to focus on the imperfections of life rather than factors that should be praised for what they are. Obviously, one major reason why the elderly prefers not to listen but to impose is because they no longer have the energy to think long enough about various considerations, and they have set their minds to follow what experiences have taught them to do. They no longer have the patience to convey good reasons for their decisions, partly because they feel time is pressing them to get things done without questioning. It could also be due to a weak and sick body. We know that a healthy mind comes with a healthy body. In like manner, poor health can result in poor thoughts. I do not believe this is true for all people who are elderly. There are those who have developed the habit of being openminded, reasonable, diplomatic, fair and just. But such characters may be relatively few.

In a home, for instance, there are elderly people who serve as the inspiration of the youth even in the day to day chores. They wake up early. They do all the preparations necessary for other members to be able to do their part of services. Their enduring care for the welfare of the majority of members of the family can be felt from morning until evening by their little but important deeds. Thus, other family members do not even think of sending them away to the home of the aged. And there are also a lot of cases wherein their part of the effort to survive has been so great that out of gratitude, the other members feel obliged to care for them rather than set them aside because they are no longer productive. This is specially true among elderly people who have gained so much wisdom to serve as the guide of those who are young and need a lot of advices about how to live their lives in order to succeed in certain endeavors.