we have different days dedicated for every one and everything in our lives! We have Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Elders Day and even a day for cheesecakes! Strange! Superficially it is a bit weird to celebrate these days in a year but take a closer look. These days can be good reasons to smile, share and enjoy. But is that all? Or do these days convey a deeper significance?
The World Elders Day is celebrated on October 1 every year. Traditionally, this day is held to honor the elders, give gifts, talk and spend quality time with them. In a nutshell, do everything to make them feel happy! But hey! Think again! Shouldn't we be doing this to our elders all through their lifetimes? Well, that's the whole point! It is like eating, and earning money! The only requirement is our willingness.
All of us know that we will be elders one day and join the ever increasing percentage of elderly citizens in the world's population! And yet some of us continue to show gross indifference and disrespect to our elders in our own families and in the society! Each of us might have countless reasons, logics and excuses for this transgression but we guess this could be due to a combination of many problems. Let us try to put into a right perspective these various problems and what we could do to keep our elders happy.
Attention to our elders does not mean providing only basic amenities like a place to stay, food to eat, some money and new clothes during occasions. Most of us pat ourselves for providing these to our elders at home and expect them to appreciate it and if not at least stop complaining and save us the embarrassment! Unfortunately, we fail to fulfill their most logical and humane expectation of spending quality time with them. It doesn't mean that we spend hours together with them; it only means that we find a few minutes of quality time for a heart-to-heart talk with them.
The World Elders Day is celebrated on October 1 every year. Traditionally, this day is held to honor the elders, give gifts, talk and spend quality time with them. In a nutshell, do everything to make them feel happy! But hey! Think again! Shouldn't we be doing this to our elders all through their lifetimes? Well, that's the whole point! It is like eating, and earning money! The only requirement is our willingness.
All of us know that we will be elders one day and join the ever increasing percentage of elderly citizens in the world's population! And yet some of us continue to show gross indifference and disrespect to our elders in our own families and in the society! Each of us might have countless reasons, logics and excuses for this transgression but we guess this could be due to a combination of many problems. Let us try to put into a right perspective these various problems and what we could do to keep our elders happy.
Attention to our elders does not mean providing only basic amenities like a place to stay, food to eat, some money and new clothes during occasions. Most of us pat ourselves for providing these to our elders at home and expect them to appreciate it and if not at least stop complaining and save us the embarrassment! Unfortunately, we fail to fulfill their most logical and humane expectation of spending quality time with them. It doesn't mean that we spend hours together with them; it only means that we find a few minutes of quality time for a heart-to-heart talk with them.
