APPROACH AGING FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE

Recently FWC’s Elder Care Director, Kathy Hyde, had the opportunity to attend a brunch at AARP Delaware where she met their Visiting Scholar, Dr. Bill Thomas, about whom AARP shares the following:

“Dr. Bill Thomas is a man of many titles - international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare, gentleman farmer, author, president of The Center for Growing and Becoming, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and developing constructive holistic approaches to aging and the care of older people—among others. Dr. Thomas is perhaps best known for his work leading the Eden Alternative, an organization committed to improving the care received by people who live in institutions everywhere. Most recently, Dr. Thomas developed the Green House, a radically new approach to long-term care. In 2005, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced a five year ten million dollar grant that will result in the creation of Green House projects in all fifty states.”

Dr. Thomas shared a perspective on aging with the group that Kathy found very refreshing, and she thought it was worth passing along. Dr. Thomas talked about two very different ways to think about and approach the aging process. The first, and most prevalent in the U.S., is the perception of aging as being a time of declination. The second perspective emphasized development during the 50+ years of life. If we approach aging with a focus on how a person declines in the later years of life, we automatically view aging as a burden, something to be avoided.

This idea reminded Kathy about the way people approach the early childhood period of life. The emphasis there is on development, with a much greater focus on what’s being learned or accomplished as a child grows, rather than what’s being lost as an infant grows into toddler-hood, preschooler, etc. No one seems to be particularly concerned that some of the physical flexibility (like being able to easily stick your toes in your mouth) might be declining as a child gets older, or that their sleeping and eating patterns change as they develop. Instead people focus on how these changes all work together to prepare the child for the very diverse and demanding job of being a healthy, happy child.

If we can rid ourselves of the tunnel-vision that forces us to dwell on what’s declining as we approach the later years of our lives, we just might be able to appreciate this period of life a great deal more. Consider viewing those 50+ years from a developmental perspective. Yes, it is fairly typical as we move into our 60’s and 70’s that our eyesight and hearing may not be quite as sharp as it used to be, but is it possible that this enables older adults to be less distracted and better able to focus on what’s close at hand and really in need of their attention? Perhaps as you age you’ll find you’re not able to “shop till you drop” anymore, so maybe you’ll be more cognizant and selective about how you spend your time, and do the kinds of things that are most important. Many older adults retire from the workplace they’ve been contributing to for many years, but this will also free up some time for them to explore many of the interests and opportunities demanding work schedules have rendered out of reach up until now. Perhaps running the Boston Marathon may not be an option anymore, but the many years we’ve lived have taught us a great deal, and perhaps the wise counsel we can provide is one of our most important assets at this stage of our development. With this kind of focus, we can clearly see that the changes taking place in our later years are also preparing us for the very important job of being our communities’ Elders, sharing our attention, love and wisdom with the world around us as no one else can.