Perspectives On Aging
The Three Stages of Life
In the old days we used to say that the three stages of life were youth, adulthood and old age or senescence. However following the Spanish tradition, looking at life from a more positive perspective, we can say that the three stages of life are: the first, the second and the third age. Each one feeding on the prior one and becoming more important and relevant until the end, when dying is nothing more than the culmination of life.During the first age, youth, we learn, develop and grow. In the second stage we work, accomplish, build the castle of one’s life and establish meaningful relationships with other fellow human beings. We protect and help the weak, compete with the strong and continue to grow. We experience victories and defeats, but the defeats are really victories in disguise. It is because of them that we continue to learn and grow. Not any one life is more important than another, as each one is unique, and as such complements other lives. Each one of us imparts our own seal on our life, and as the famous ballad goes, “We do it our way.”
The third stage of life, the third age, is the most beautiful. At this point we have already built the structure of our life, and now it is time to add the ornaments. Now we have the wisdom, which only the elderly possess, as it is the product of living and struggling. It is now that we pass the baton of our experiences to younger generations. Some will not listen, but a few smart ones will and as a result will become better persons. The third age, if we are lucky to get to it, can be the most significant and rewarding of all.
