To die is nothing. To die, the big deal! But growing old, oh growing old… sang Jacques Brel1. I recently celebrated my 65and birthday, I officially became an elder. I will be entitled to discounts and perhaps a few privileges… but which ones exactly, in this society which does not yet fully consider aging as an advantage?
Posted at 1:00 p.m.
Even if the COVID-19 pandemic has had some impact on people’s awareness of the fate reserved for seniors who are aging in CHSLDs or in other types of residences for people with loss of autonomy, our relationship to aging has has he really changed?
In a society that continues to value the equation: physical appearance, performance, performance and success, aging well is an individual responsibility that requires juggling several factors, among which luck and heredity remain (for now) beyond our control.
Doesn’t look his age is a compliment that one aspires to earn. Receiving it unexpectedly provides relief, reassurance of our worth, a sense of still being part of the game.
Moreover, aging badlyfor no good reason to an outside eye, attracts malicious comments or ill-timed judgments. aging badly can represent a calamity (“he or she is aging badly” is a phrase that we still hear very often), unless an illness can legitimize that we are victims and not responsible for our decline.
I too feel this pressure to aging well, but I dream of a transformation of our social structures that would generate broader recognition of seniors and not limited to the sole respect of their right to live and die with dignity. Like indigenous communities2 which we should urgently draw inspiration from, it seems to me, the elders would be recognized and recognized for their key role in the transmission of knowledge and the enrichment of society, not only with regard to traditions and customs, but within even of our teaching and working structures.
I dream of a society that would take advantage, on a daily basis and in a concrete way in our interactions, of the lived experience and knowledge (know-how and interpersonal skills) of seniors.
How many people regret not having discussed with their elders, during the time when they and they could still communicate, discuss and exchange on the things of life, the most banal as well as the most existential? Tell me, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, how did you get through the hardships that littered your path, how did you face the inevitable obstacles and setbacks that arise in our life as human ? What helped or helped you, what hindered you…? How did you fall or land on your feet, on what, on whom could you count to get up or not to fall… in despair, depression or disenchantment? What inspired or inspired or gave you hope…?
Aging can be a privilege or become an ordeal, and it does not only depend on the person who is aging. The transmission of the lived experience and the taking into account of the experiential knowledge3 participate in social cohesion and strengthen individual and collective ability to adapt and cope with adversity, by weaving and reweaving the meaning of our human experience on this earth, from generation to generation.
1. Lyricists: Gérard Jouannest/Jacques Brel/Marcel Azzola
2. Karl S. Hele, “Indigenous Elders in Canada” (2021), The Canadian Encyclopedia.
3. Learn more about the origin and usage of the phrase experiential knowledge :