Do we lose our sense of humour because we get Old or do we get Old because we lose our sense of humour?
Most people say that they are young at heart but then in reality, are they? How many of us still do childish things as part of our ageing process, do we not grow out of the shoes of yesteryears and justify our past actions and mindset as being young and naive?
Surprisingly the people who seem to remain looking young and actually young at heart are the ones who don’t seem to have a chip off their shoulder or are uptight about life, for them, the happiness of cooking life is more important than struggling to find the perfect recipe of living a successful life.
The future of Aged Care in India is an interesting space to watch, not because others will get old, it’s because the nation is getting older and probably there’s no turning back the clock.
The past 5 years has seen a dramatic change in the mindset of children and parents both, I guess that’s how societies evolve. Today many middle aged people are openly talking about their Golden Years, something which they were not comfortable talking with their children till a decade ago.
Retirement Homes, Care Homes, Intellectual Companionship, Dementia Care / Memory Care, Rehabilitation Care, Mental Health is becoming acceptable and part of social discussions.
The larger point of debate is, while on one hand, the private sector is galloping to catch the cash cow called Elderly, but then what happens to the people at the bottom of the pyramid; do they become collateral damage in the game called National Policies and Legislative Acts?
Coming back to the subject of Humour and Ageing, in my opinion, both have their own spiritual outlook. Spirituality teaches how to let go of unwanted stress and learn the art of humour and balance while Ageing teaching us that at the end of the day it’s the people who can see stress under the lamp of humour probably handle life better.
But then as they say, most of us don’t have a sense of humour to understand our humorous life….
Pankaj Mehrotra
