The reality is glaring “ Yes we are beginning to age , if not in spirit or health but biologically yes, yet we love to believe that we are FOREVER YOUNG “… ..A few hairs graying, a few wrinkles showing and weight not always under control.
We like to believe that we are experienced , seen a lot of colors in life and brought up children from infancy to adulthood , but some situations put us in confusion and we simply life to blow the lid off.
Here’s quoting some real life sequences on a single day .
In the morning while on hospital rounds I enjoyed sharing the practical knowledge gathered from over 20 years of clinical practice with my students least realizing that this also carries a tag of age for the maturity achieved.
But the same afternoon while examining patients in my busy hours I seem to get pissed off when a man in his late 20’s or early 30’s addresses me as “ aunty”. Oh! My God , do I look that old ? it reflects immediately and I lose my cool.
But when the next patient an elderly lady from a rural background may be in her 70’s calls me “ bhanti “ I literally retaliate and say I am not a bhanti, I have grown up children .
But amazing ,the same evening on hospital rounds with my juniors around and I as a Professor cannot accept an elderly gentleman in distress addressing me as “ sister”. Isn’t this sheer identity crisis?. The last of course is a result of male chauvinism in our society, because the same gentleman addresses my students over 20 years junior to me as “sir”
Now the perplexity of the situation is ‘What do I want? ‘
Am I a young lady looking forward to go ahead and learn from life or am I already seasoned with a lot of realities faced but yet spirited to go ahead .
Its perhaps that we are matured to talk and live from experience, but when it comes to admitting to the flip side of age, we are as yet not geared up .
Yes life and age are all an evolution of maturity. its obvious that we still have friends who enjoy glorifying achievements about themselves while many others have reached well ahead in there ladders in life and are no more happy blowing their own trumpets.
We enjoy spiritual discourses but we are ever ready for a holiday and adventure sports.
We are ready to donate for charity because it gives us a sense of fulfillment but we never think twice to blow off money for our simple pleasures of life .
We believe in friendship , but need our own space .
Our priority is our children but we still love to persue our career.
We are a support to our children and also our elderly parents but when we seek a pillar to lean on we feel we are falling .
This is in reality what mid life is all about.
But if we can accept every situation as it comes, life will perhaps give us a lot more happiness and satisfaction .
It’s like we’ve reached the autumn of our lives but the feel is as colourful as spring . One has to agree fall is even more enchanting at times than the vibrance of spring .The resilence of nature to the premonition of impending winter is very certain , but our hearts leap with joy and pleasure to perceive that the summer heat and the incessant rains of uncertainty and anxiety that torments us during youth is gradually settling down and we are all set to enjoy a carefree blissful life uninhibited with responsibilities and restrictions and create and relish whatever has remained unfulfilled till date .
Life should not be about regrets of what I’ve missed out . It’s now just the time to go marching ahead and pick up all the colours and happiness that the summer heat and rains kept us away from .
Professor Dr Madhumita Priyadarshini Das
drmpdas@gmail.com