Old age does not guarantee either intelligence or wisdom. In order not to become victims of stereotypes, we need to learn to see a person behind his status — whatever he may be.
The epithet «wise» was attached to old age. Wise old age. Isn’t that why the councils of elders have been known, at least since the Old Testament times, and they existed among all peoples. They elected people experienced and, as they said, wise in life.
The old man not only knew the traditions and customs of the clan, he was distinguished from others by a great life experience, which gave him the right to resolve disputes, offer a way out in difficult situations. By tradition, the council of elders is still called today a working advisory body in many parliaments of the world, and in Estonia, for example, the head of an administrative body, an analogue of the governor, is called an elder.
But just as commonly we say «nonsense old man,» «frivolous old man,» «old — like a little.» Old people are really capricious, fastidious and behave like small children. This, therefore, is a different type or kind of old man. This is unlikely to be elected to the council of elders. You have to babysit him yourself.
Now, I think, many have figured out in their minds what type of old people their parents or grandfathers are. Any thinking often begins with classification. Worse if it ends with it. Because classification is only an aid, a scaffolding for thought. Sooner or later, these forests, in my opinion, should be abandoned. Because every phenomenon of life is more complicated than the most ingenious classification. What can we say about a person?
Most likely, old age enhances those qualities that were originally inherent in a person. It is as if she is putting a magnifying glass in front of them. The miser becomes more miserly, the smart one becomes smarter, the obstinate becomes more obstinate, the lazy becomes lazier, the frivolous becomes more frivolous, and so on. This can be taken as a working, that is, not final version.
Because, remember, we say about one that he settled down over the years, about the other — that he grew wiser in old age. This means that a person does not just change (which is undoubtedly), but sometimes changes radically towards old age.
Now here’s another thing: let’s not be slaves to a stylistic stereotype. According to this stereotype, a wise person behaves sedately, he is laconic, moderate in food and wine, and, most likely, acquires a beard. Without prejudice, do we really know little of such laconic and bearded old men who are distinguished neither by special intelligence nor insight? On the contrary, the eccentric, laughing, eccentric old man has such a sharp eye, such memory, such a cordial mind that a few minutes of communication with him sometimes bring peace and order to a troubled soul.
Why am I saying all this? Now I will explain.
Age in and of itself is not a virtue. At the same time, the commandment “Honor your father and your mother” should be immutable even today, it seems to me. The measure of suffering and trials that befell the old man must be respected. But this does not mean at all that we will turn to any old man for advice, and even more so we want to use this advice. We respect his suffering, yes, but the experience of his life may be completely alien to us. Are there few old people today who, from the bitter experience of the Stalinist era, learned only one conviction: order at any cost? Even if he does not hysterically, but speaks weightily and strokes his gray beard at the same time — what do we care?
Wisdom can lurk just in an eccentric old man, so you should treat him with close attention and set it up correctly, and not turn off your hearing. But it’s also not necessary.
- «Old age can be the happiest time of our lives»
The most important thing is elsewhere. In old age, a person becomes more capricious, which is largely due to illness and simply a lack of physical strength. It is ridiculous to think that some special old people sat in the council of elders, who did not have these traits and properties. Were. But they were also considered wise by right. We notice in them an eccentricity, which is often the result of a strict adherence, despite the circumstances, to habits that have turned into principles. This does not at all indicate the absence of the mind, but only the desire to preserve oneself, one’s integrity thanks to external manifestations.
Once again, we may not see eye to eye at all. Yes, and I do not need to break into an open door: children have always tried to act contrary to their parents rather than following their will. Only grandchildren begin to listen to the elderly. They are attentive not to views on life, but to life observations. They choose from the speech of the grandfather not so much instruction as history. They hear not “this is how it was”, but “this is how it happens”. They greedily supplement their experience, the smallness of which they keenly feel. And they do it right. Because it is in this part — observations and stories — that the experience of the elderly is invaluable. It has scope for comparisons, neighborhood and collision of countless everyday situations, reactions to them, that is, ways of behavior in which this or that character is manifested. And even more important is that they have already happened, that is, in addition to the initial data — characters, situations, plot development — we already know the finale. We worried, watched, pretended to take on one or another role, took the side of one or the other, which means that we will learn with a shock how it all ended. Unlike a math problem, which makes you think because the solution is hidden, a life story turns on our thought exactly at the moment when it ends.