Reflections on Ageing

Reflections on ageing

Carmel McNaught

I have had a wonderful summer. I decided that three-quarters of a century was a life milestone that needed to be celebrated in style; it was a party night I will always remember. Friends and family came from far and wide, including a collection of eight friends who are now in the elite ‘75 in 2025’ club. Celebrations thus can continue throughout the year in several countries.

Of course, all this fun has involved my reflecting on ‘time’ and what ageing means in terms of the passing of time. My husband, David, and I are amazed at how so much of our time in this phase of life is about maintaining health. It is more than doing sufficient exercise and getting annual health checks. It is, for me, a much deeper recognition that, while I no longer have seemingly limitless energy, I feel that a broad life experience working and living in many countries has enabled me to be balanced in my reading of current global disasters, to be grateful for what we have here in Australia, and not to give up hope that we can mitigate some of the worst aspects of wars, disease and the increasing trail of disasters that will accompany climate change. It is a question of balance which, however, can often seem like walking a tightrope.

Let me explain the tension that I feel I need to negotiate as I tread the path into future years. For many years, I have often turned to Desiderata (Max Ehrmann,1927) for its elegant balance. In particular, this sentence is significant for the 70s: ‘Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.’ However, now that I have passed the time of youth, this is not quite enough for me. I find myself turning to the powerful poem by Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night (1947). The oft-repeated phrase in the poem, ‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light’, fits my determination to live this remaining quarter of a century (or part thereof) to the full, to enjoy each day, and feel part of this complex and fraught global society.

So, how to achieve this balance between ‘surrendering’ and ‘raging’? I will return to health as an example. I have succumbed to the old-lady practice of falling a few times; mostly, just with a few bruises, though occasionally a tad more serious. I recently had MRIs done on both knees as my right knee was not functional for a while after one such fall. The orthopaedic surgeon noted that both knees are ‘ragged’ (descriptive technical term!) but anyone who regularly walks 7-8 km does not need knee replacements. So, I have committed to a gym session each day for life … I am now several months into this routine. I have surrendered to the increasing risk of falls, while raging against the inevitability of declining further. This is empowering.

A final example. David and I believe that engagement in our local community assists us in maintaining balance. We accept the challenges of living in a huge city with its concomitant reduction in freedoms; in that sense we surrender to the complexity of urban life. However, our raging is through joining local environmental and community groups because each little action can support meaningful change. Together we do things like walking for Neighbourhood Watch, supporting Lighter Footprints, teaching karate (David), being involved in some tree-protection activities, volunteering during the recent election, contributing to this grand community newspaper, and so on.

I will continue ‘surrendering’ and ‘raging’ simultaneously.

Carmel McNaught is an ageing but sprightly 75-years-old retired academic.