The inevitable condition of ageing

The best answer to the moan/groan/complaint/resigned sigh of getting old is to quote the fundamental truth of life as pronounced by the Buddha – jaati, jara, marana translated to: birth, decay, and death; or birth, aging, and death. There is absolutely no turning back the clock of aging, so we might as well accept the fact with equanimity.

The Britannica article on old age and its social consequences starts thus:

“Old age, also called senescence, in human beings, is the final stage of the normal life span. Definitions of old age are not consistent from the standpoints of biology, demography (conditions of mortality and morbidity) employment and retirement and sociology. For statistical and public administrative purposes, however, old age is frequently defined as 60 or 65 years of age and older.”

Why I write this Sunday on ageing is because of a new naming practice in Japan which I gathered from a Wall Street Journal article titled In Aging Japan, under 75 is the New

‘Pre-old’. That’s good news, isn’t it, to the oldies who read me?

Japan hikes its term ‘old’

‘Pre-old’ and ‘late-stage elderly’ is the terminology suggested by both the Japan Gerontological Society and the Japan Geriatrics Society, which say the 65 to74-year range now should be called “pre-old age.” The government says the idea is worth looking into and has modified its annual White Paper on the Elderly to make clear it isn’t necessarily calling people in their 60s elderly.

“Japan is by far the world’s oldest nation, with more than 29% of the population 65 or older, compared with 17% in the US and 21% in Europe… The birthrate is still falling and immigration has nearly ground to a halt with Covid-19. Linguistically, however, Japan is at the forefront of change. Millions of people have learned they no longer are old, but merely ‘pre-old.’” The writer goes on to cite examples. “Isao Oshima, 82, of Nagano would be considered elderly even under the revised definitions or perhaps ‘late-stage elderly’, a term used currently for those 75 and older.”

Nagano, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics, used the new definition to reduce the proportion of its population classified as elderly to just 16%, from 30% under the old definition, making it one of the youngest cities in Japan. And thus the article quotes persons like a woman of 64 – Ms. Kobayashi – who makes crafts and prepares lunch boxes, getting up at 3.00 a m to get to her workplace. Her husband, Yuichi, 67, retired from a factory job, is far less energetic than his wife but works part-time in a department store and says that he is determined to outlive his grandfather who died at 67 but looked a frail 80 years.

Referring to Ms Kobayashi, “The good news is that so long as she stays in Nagano, she won’t be elderly next year, or even in 2030. The city, eager to keep its older residents active, has redefined the word so that only those 75 and older qualify to be labeled ‘elderly.’ ‘I think it’s a natural move, because people in their 60s are much younger than I had imagined before,’ Ms. Kobayashi said.”

As in the U.S. and other developed nations, Japan has been nudging up the age at which pensioners can receive full benefits. In April, a revised employment law took effect, telling large employers they should offer workers a place until they turn 70, up from the previous government-sanctioned retirement age of 65. The government says that this is meant to protect the right of people to keep working and isn’t a stealth way of making everyone work full time until their 70s.

A part-time farmer 38, also in Nagano says he plans to work through his 70s as many Japanese farmers do. “We say here that a person in his 40s or 50s is still a child with a runny nose, and people in their 60s and 70s are in the prime of their careers.”

The situation in Sri Lanka

“In between 1981 and 2012, the proportion of population aged 60 years and above has increased from 6.6% to 12.4%. The median age of the Sri Lankan population has also increased from 21.4 years to 31.0 years for the same period, which is much higher than other countries in the South Asian region.” (from Internet)

Some contend that our grandfathers and great grandfathers lived much healthier and longer lives, proposing the stress of the present rat-race was absent and they ate better and healthier food – less or no flesh and fowl; more home grown vegetables and fruit. Yes, pandemics were also absent and nature did not step in as now with disturbance to monsoons, sudden droughts and floods. But those long lived persons were rare cases, while the norm is that people now stay healthy to around the 70s and many pass their 90th year, able and active.

Personally I disagree with the above contention that modern change and advancement have been detrimental to people’s health as long as they know the dangers and take precautionary or corrective measures. As regards health, medicines and advances in surgery and investigation make for prolongation of the life span.

Retirement in Sri Lanka

The retirement age varies in public and private sectors, and many now work after official retirement on temporary or consultancy basis. The age of retirement as recognized by the EPF was 50 for women and 55 for men. In November 2020, the then Finance Minister, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, proposed doing away with different ages and making it 60 years for all. (Life expectancy for men is 72 and women 77).

A strong argument of mine is that retirement at 60 years is an absurd cut off point. Speaking for women, I am certain, we are able to give of ourselves more to jobs and careers from 55 to 75, for some even longer. Child bearing, menopause, emotional stresses due to marriage and children are mostly done with and over, leaving the woman better adjusted and less a victim to debilitating emotions. Hence her increase in wisdom through experience and commitment to her work outside of home makes her a better worker.

We too should adjust nomenclature like Nagano has done. Women definitely show signs of age earlier than men. Very unfortunate but true. Apart from biology, even perceptions are prejudiced against women. A man is usually said to grow mature, statelier, even more handsome as hair turns salt and pepper, and face lines are identified as those of greater personality. Absurd! The middle of most Sri Lankan men is overlooked in these prejudiced judgments. The moment a woman’s hair begins silvering and she is averse to colouring it, she is labeled old and very soon she is ancient, even senile. These last two terms should be banned.

I end with three quotes I consider apt. Ingrid Bergman, that wonderful woman of passion and ability said: “Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!” So true since a woman is now more on her own – widowed earlier or out from under the wing of husband /brother/son and more independent and so, much more herself. Jimmy Buffet (not the philanthropist but an American singer-writer, actor and businessman; 1946 -) declares “Wrinkles will always go where smiles have been” meaning, I suppose, that smiles convert themselves to wrinkles so why worry, as smiling was a good habit. John Lennon said “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” Plenty of philosophy in that, especially because friends and happy association keeps one young. The times to remember and reflect over are the good times enjoyed and not the bad suffered; in short optimism, good thoughts and fellow feeling keep one young though advancing in years. An encouraging remark dished out is: You are as old as you feel. Never mind your biological age. So true!