Like a mighty tree, they are planted in this garden called life. Yet same as blossom, they slowly wither and eventually die. The elderly are taken for granted most of the time, myths about old age abound. But are these myths true? World Health Organization exposes the fallacy of some of these myths. Let's consider few..
Myth: Most older people live in the industrialized world.
Fact: Actually, over 60% of the world's 580 million older people live in developing countries. An increasing number of people in these lands are reaching old age as a result of better health care and improvements in sanitation, housing and nutrition.
Myth: Older people have nothing to contribute.
Fact: Older people make substancial contributions by doing work for which they are not paid. For instance, an estimated 2 million children in the United States are being cared for by their grandparents, with 1.2 million of them living in their grandparents home. Thus older people provide shelter, food, and education and convey cultural values to their grandchildren while enabling mothers and fathers to continue to work. Also older people when still capable can do much needed caregiving. Example in developing countries where AIDS is a problem, the elderly care for their infected adult children and when these die they have to raise their orphaned grand children.
Myth: Older people lived the work force because they can no longer perform their jobs.
Fact: They more often lived the work force because of disadvantages in education or training or because ageism (prejudice against the elderly) rather than older age in itself.
Myth: Older people do not want to work.
Fact: Older people are often excluded from paying jobs despite their willingness and ability to continue working. They are being told to leaved employment to younger job seekers though ar not as capable and efficient as the older ones.
The elderly should be a sorce of expertise that can be put to good use. Countries should see their ageing populatons not as a problem but as a potential solution to the problem. Our grandparents and the elderly ones in general truly deserves our respect and affection. They are and will continue to be Beautiful Souls.
Source: Awake Magazine
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