The ageing flowers!

A parent who visited to converse about his son, who is in the pre-school, but developmentally challenged, mentioned about the need to expand the service of the department where I work by adding 'therapy' services similar to what is offered by other child development support services. It was with those thoughts I came to the car park in the evening to go home. 

I was struck by the flowers of Euphorbia mili plant in the car park. From bright pink to fading shades with a greenish tinge was the range of colours I noticed in the flowers. The last stage of the flower is what I noticed in the last photo with the petals looking and feeling fragile almost ready to fall off!

When I noticed the the last stage of the Euphorbia mili flower, I was reminded of what I heard from someone who knew me well, 'Your golden years are over. It is time to prepare for retirement...there are others who will carry on with the work'! In fact since then, it is going to be three years. I am still at work, going home on some days past nine at night!

It is the first photo above which captivated me most. The two shades in the two bunches of flowers! 

That awakened within me an awareness of the difference between the two bunches in appearance. 

The sign of ageing process! 

There is a compulsion in the mind of senior citizens to think that ageing is in the mind, as they too want to appear young and able. 

But something changes as we age! 

The senior citizens ought to ask this question to themselves! What are the changes taking place in their body, mind and spirit!

I feel that a significant change within me is the fading value for titles in life. What makes a person important is the position that he or she holds or the projection of the significance of what he or she  does.

Ever since I stepped back from the normal circuit that a senior professional would be part of, travelling to speak or attend conferences or  holding positions in the professional bodies, I have been in the role of doing the little I can do for the last ten years. When one withdraws from the arena of visible action, one fades away from the memory of others. The senior citizens feel this loss and stay wondering whether his or her significance has faded away. 

From the metaphor of the flowers above, some things have changed in life, just as the flowers go through the stage of ageing. The flowers have a new colour, different from the fresh colour! The greenish tinge they acquire gives away a message. They receive the new colour, which connects with the universal colour of green seen in the foliage of plants, shrubs and trees. These flowers become more integrated with life in nature!

A senior citizen lives the ageing years well, if he or she can integrate better with what is around and see himself or herself as one equal with others and not as one distinguished from others! The craze to be distinguished is a rat race. To be one among others is a normalising process in life. We are those who came into the world holding nothing in our hands and shall return holding nothing in our hands. The ageing process is the time to live by letting go!

To the question, 'will you not expand your work', my response is that the time has come to be on a journey to live normally and not for distinguishing oneself!

To be ready for transitions is the way we are to live when we age!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)