How Our Priorities Change with Age
Posted: Friday, November 20, 2009
by Carolyn Tytler
Imagine a class of Kindergarten children, bright-eyed, wiggly, innocent, and cute as buttons. Now, fast forward the time frame sixty-five years. The scene switches to a seniors' facility where some of the same group now reside.
If you tried to match the children to the seniors they'd become, it would be almost impossible. The appearances, voices, expressions, and attitudes have all undergone profound changes.
CHILDHOOD
To the child, the family and the home are the center of the universe. Parents are the source of everything: food, clothing, socialization skills, discipline, and stimulation. Movement and exercise are also crucial, as he grows and develops at an amazingly fast rate. His priorities are family, pets, toys, and soon he begins to take an interest in other children.
As the child reaches school age, his world expands. He succumbs to many childhood illnesses as his immature immune system develops antibodies to combat the viruses and bacteria in his environment.
He explores the neighborhood: the grocery store, the church, the playground, and of course the school. His priorities also expand. He values his friends, he enjoys accumulating knowledge, but prefers actual experiences to book learning.
He still needs exercise, but begins to focus on favorite activities such as soccer, surfing, racing, hopscotch, or swimming .
His priorities are anything involving action, friends and new experiences. He will likely love the amusement park, holidays at the beach or in the woods, sports and competitions in which he can excel, and jaunts around the city as he gradually becomes familiar with his environment.
TEENAGE YEARS
The center of a teen's world shifts from home and family to friends and extracurricular activities. There is a great desire to "fit in" with the group; everyone wants the same designer clothes, and expense is no object. A teen may take a part-time job to purchase the desired items.
Teens' priorities are friends, friendships which gradually narrow down to particular group or clique. They may have a succession of "steady" boyfriends or girlfriends as they learn to relate successfully to the opposite sex. They enjoy taking risks and sometimes consider themselves indestructible. They want a car and struggle for increased freedom and independence.
School may not be a important priority, except for the mature minority who have good the sense to seriously consider their futures.
YOUNG ADULTHOOD
This is the period when the course is set for the future. For most people, priorities include establishing a home and a family of their own.
They will focus on finding a mate, on settling down in employment which offers a reasonable salary and chance for promotion, having children, building a happy family and purchasing and maintaining a comfortable home.
Priorities are usually once again focused on home and family, although there will be some who have difficulty leaving the teenage years behind. These individuals insist on having " nights out with the old gang", flirting with members of the opposite sex, and they may even relish the risk of extramarital affairs.
These immature souls may just be "late bloomers", but unfortunately there are some who will never mature.
MIDDLE AGE
This is a time of consolidation. The children have left home, employment has stabilized, and near the end of this stage, retirement will be an occasion for satisfaction and celebration.
Priorities include: children and grandchildren, rekindling relationships with mates in empty nests, providing or supervising the care of elderly parents and securing pension benefits. Social life increases and there will be time for reconnecting with old friends.
As time passes, the retiree will pick up former hobbies and find new ones, travel, do volunteer work, and engage in all the interests and activities which family and work duties prevented in earlier years.
THE SENIOR YEARS
Health issues may begin to appear. Priorities include staying fit and active as long as possible. Home and family once again take precedence and often seniors are most comfortable in familiar surroundings.
There is a desire to reconnect with the past friends and events, because, while the long-time neighbor's name may elude the senior, things that happened fifty years ago are crystal-clear.
Quiet activities become increasingly important: reading, TV, dinners and visits with friends and family members and reflecting on the mystery of life and its ultimate meaning.
While organizing this essay, it occurred to me that there really is a cycle to life. Childhood relates to the senior years; life is structured and predictable and priorities revolve around home, family and health.
The teenage years and middle age both focus on self-discovery, in indulging in personal interests and pursuits, and on increased freedom and opportunities to socialize.
The years of young adulthood are the most active and fruitful. These produce the next generation of humans, and they encompass the individual's greatest contribution to society. In most cases this span of time stands alone as the pinnacle of a person's existence.
Many believe that each of us came from the hands of a loving and all-wise Creator, and that each one will return to Him when the cycle of earthly life is complete. Happy are they who manage to navigate each stage of the earthly journey successfully, while keeping their priorities in the proper order.
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