Another calendar year is about to end and the capitalist world commands us to spend money, celebrate and enjoy. In another side some people say that the end of an year reminds us, of our getting old. Well, what does it really mean to say that somebody is getting old? I'm sure, in the popular notion, it has more to deal with calendar days than anything else. This being a real worry for masses is nothing for argument, when taken into account, the fuzz around 'turning 30' and 'naughty forty'. Age is one significant parameter when judging one's physical and mental capabilities, attitude towards different facets of life, maturity, looks and so on. However, it is unfortunate that a person's age is almost entirely measured in calendar days. There's lot more to it. I think we should talk about at least three ages of a person. Here they are in the order of increasing importance.
1. Calendar age
This is the age measured with respect to the rotation of the earth and hence is the most natural form of it. Imagine a person who prefers to spend his life entirely with the nature while only fulfilling his physical needs, without entering into culture (culture is what separates humans from other animals). Then the only parameter that will determine transitions within his life will be his calendar age. However, the moment he decides to enter into the cultural world, lot of other factors that are more important will start to emerge. The more he becomes cultural and human, the more effective these other factors will be. However, with any human being, certain changes in the physique and consequential transitions in psyche are inevitable. After all anybody dies when the calendar age reaches a certain limit. Therefore calendar age too counts though a person does not have any control over it.
2. Physical age
This is another form of age which is ignored by majority. One can challenge the calendar age by keeping his / her body healthy and fit. What requires is a little bit of discipline and dedication. Few years back I got an opportunity to go on a mountain hike in Norway with a group of Norwegians. After few minutes of hiking in mountains covered by snow I was exhausted and started struggling (this is before I started my regular workouts). An 'old' Norwegian lady in the team who climbed mountains pretty comfortably was offering me a hand often. At that time I was in my twenties and the lady should have been well beyond sixty, but she was younger than me physically.
Unfortunately most Sri Lankans underrate the influence of exercices and healthy food on one's age. Our elders get ill with will thinking that they should be sick by default after reaching a certain calendar age. This negative attitude has resulted in huge crowds in every hospital, creating a sick nation. I think this is one of the common issues in developing countries that keeps a significant part of the population out of capable workforce.
I can stress emphasis on physical age from my own experience. Couple of years back I started doing regular workouts and was intrigued by the transformation it caused in both body and mind. Today I had a hectic schedule at office, but I regained energy to write this blog post after a swim. The fascinating thing about physical age is that we can control most of it.
3. Mental age
This is the most important form of age in my judgement. Even as reaching the sunset of calendar age, a man can be youthful if he owns courage to strive for experimenting new avenues in life. Delight to confront challenge even after hundredth failure is the ultimate youthfulness in my standards. I was fascinated by some characters who dared to dissent from the popular notions and make significant changes in the world at a time they were deemed to be old and incapable. On the other hand, one who accepts what is given to him is a dead person even if he is young in calendar age. If physical age can be controlled to most part, mental age is completely cultural and is entirely controllable.
I think I have provided you with enough arguments and facts to lean towards the conclusion that earth's rotation is not the only parameter (not the most significant parameter even) in determining a person's age. Ok, here we go...The real challenge starts now. How far are you going to harness your ability to control physical age and mental age?
