I never in a million years could imagine it could be.
In younger years, I could not imagine reaching age 70.
In younger years, I thought age 70 was old.
Now, I know it is “young old” . . . .With an emphasis on the “young.”
Yes, this Grandma does think it is our Boomer generation that not only accepted change, but embraced it throughout our lives thus far. It makes us more resilient for the challenges of the current and uncertain world in which we live. Somehow, living long years gives us the life experience to appreciate the lessons of the past and to know “this too shall pass.” This Grandma has been known as a “Pollyanna,” so for those not so inclined to take such an optimistic and positive view of everything, I understand.
Actually, I understand better after picking up Time Magazine, September 12-19, 2016 and found two articles, when taken together better explain why the Boomer the “young old” generation is the best ever and this time in Boomer “young old” generation should be appreciated and taken advantage of.
The first article, “We shouldn’t dismiss people who deny facts,” by Sara E. Gorman and Jack M. Gorman, tells us to be more tolerant of people who deny facts, that “research has proven that humans are distinctly uncomfortable with events or phenomena without clear causes, and when we don’t know something, we tend to fill in the gaps ourselves.”
I did not understand what this meant, and the example given is helpful:
“Take autism. Since we don’t know why it occurs, it becomes easy to misplace blame. Moreover, humans do not assess risk in a measured or rational manner. Instead, we often conjure an image of a scenario in our minds. Because we are fundamentally empathetic creatures, we respond more to stories than to statistics. That’s precisely what makes it more natural for antivaxxers to ‘imagine’ the risk of their children dying from a vaccine than it is for them to comprehend statistics that say otherwise.”
So, we of the “young old” generation imagine ourselves as “forever young” and we will do everything to make that happen. Fortunately, for us, the statistics are catching up to our scenarios!
However, we must have empathy for those who think of us Boomer grandparents otherwise. As the Gormans stated at the end of their viewpoint article, “Changing minds requires compassion and understanding, not disdain.”
The second article on the same page in Time Magazine, “Older People Are Happier Than People in Their 20’s,” reports on a study reported in the August 2016 Journal of Clinical Psychiatry which found that we, of later generations, have higher levels of happiness than those in their 20’s and 30’s. They demonstrated highest levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Before this Grandma even pulls up the study, this finding makes common sense. We are comfortable and done building. In the 20’s and 30’s, the building decades, building a future is stressful. We can stop and smell the roses we forgot to do in our 20’s and 30’s!
In the New York Times, August 24, 2016, Nicholas Bakalar reported on the study in “Growing Older, Getting Happier.” Dr. Dilip V. Jeste, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, interviewed by Mr. Bakalar said
“Brain studies show that the amygdala in older people responds less to stressful or negative images than in a younger person,” he said. “We become wise. Peer pressure loses its sting. Better decision-making, more control of emotions, doing things that are not just for yourself, knowing oneself better, being more studious and yet more decisive.”
A benefit of being “young old” is that life is good and our mental health is better.
This Grandma has always had at least one friend a decade older and one friend a decade younger. It is wonderful to learn from the experience of one who has just gone through what faces us and to share our experience with one who is going to face what we faced in life.
Yes, ”young old,” wiser, happier and more from which those not as fortunate in years can learn! We now know to tell stories rather than just give statistics to be heard. And, we have many stories to tell.
Joy,
Mema
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