How Societies Can Grow Old Better

I literally “run” into inspiring people all the time.  This week it was Mr. A, who at 69 years old, admits he enjoys aging.  He did quickly add, “for the most part”.

I ran into Mr. A on my early morning run.  We plodded along for about 30 minutes. He runs 5 days a week and has completed over 50 marathons.  I marvelled at his “bucket list” and his range of career choices, gained inspiration from his ability to overcome adversity (including the tragic loss of one daughter when she was only 20 years old) and soaked up as much of his positive energy as I could.

We are expecting a new trend whereby the number of seniors outnumbers children in Canada.  We can see this as a negative and focus on “how seniors will drain the health care system” or we can find ways to shift our perspective to see how seniors are still productive in society through non-monetary ways including volunteerism, consumers, family support, the passing of wisdom to younger generations and as family caregivers, just to name a few.

Watch a TED talk given by Jared Diamond on “How Societies Can Grow Old Better”