Ageing Process And Cycles Of Life

Chronologically, age is determined based on the day that an individual was born, but psychologically, mentally and emotionally, age varies quite widely. Chronological age does not always correspond with the degree of psychological, mental or emotional maturity of an individual. Thus ageing process should not be seen only from the perspective of physical maturity or chronological age. For various reasons there are a number of people who, inspite of their chronological age, have psychological, mental and emotional capacities far below or above the number of years that they are.
There are extra-ordinarily intelligent children, geniuses and people endowed with inexplicable abilities, and there are also mentally retarded and unstable people, with various forms of abnormalities in their patterns of development and maturity. Thus, ageing process should be seen from the perspective of inward development. There is also official age, having to do with sworn affidavit which an individual can present and is used in official documents as the age of the individual. There are situations where public servants claiming to be born in 1960, through sworn affidavits, have First School Leaving Certificates issued in 1958. Two years before birth!
The sad issue about official age is that some public officers alter their age several times through sworn affidavits for the purpose of staying longer on the job. This is a reality which is not healthy, even though some people justify the practice on the ground that at 60 or above, some people can be as virile as a man of 30 years.
Thus the arguments about ageing process include the issue of virility and mental alertness of an individual. Such arguments go on to say that some people develop and perform better and thus become more useful in their old age. It was based on such logic that the retiring age of some public servants was raised to 70, even when some of such officials, by chronological age, can be over 80 and working. The use of hair dye becomes a handy cosmetic measure.
The ageing process is a mechanism of its own, whose interweaving factors include heredity, lifestyle, manner of exercising the body, diet and eating habits as well as living environments. In the first place, the process of a child being born is by no means an accident. Similarly, the process of a man and a woman coming together, whose union results in the birth of a child is also not an accident. The attraction of a soul into the circle and union of a man and a woman is governed by strict rather than capricious regulations. It is not a speculation or accident that the particular circumstances and period, as well as the environment, that a child is born are not arbitrary but specific design. These are issues that many people rarely reflect on.
It is particularly important that expectant women should be mindful of whose company they keep on a regular basis. This is so because souls longing for incarnation need a platform to serve as anchors to prospective parents. Women in particular provide such anchorage, with an additional supplement coming from regular companions of expectant women. The character of an individual can be known by the kind of companion that one keeps regularly.
Cycles of life
A peculiar law governs the progression of human ageing process as well as the events and experiences which different people have at different stages of life. The cycles of human life, beginning with the embryo, start with the formation of the head which contains the brain. The brain or encephalon can be described as the organ of coordination of sensory and extra-sensory functions of the human system. Consequently there arises what can be called encephalocodal law. Briefly, within the human system there is some kind of programming, regulating sequences of physical development and growth. Also around the middle of pregnancy when a blood system comes about in the embryo, blueprint of the coming baby gets connected via the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). There are beings handling these processes.
Like musical sound-waves, with a progressive pattern of sevens in the octave, the cycles of human life are arranged in similar order. Musical notes are arranged as A B C D E F G, thus the order of sevens is a regular pattern, which can be called septimal law. From birth to the age of 7 as the first cycle, other scales are 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63 and 70 and above. What we find is that there are three phases in the progressive cycles, namely: from birth to the age of 21, as the first phase, up to the age of 42 as the second phase, while the third phase ends at the age of 63.
The remaining years up to the age of 70 and above, can be described as a period of Sabbath for people who are able to live up to such old age. “Three score and ten years” was given as man’s span of life.
The first phase of the first three cycles in the life of an individual which brings him to the age of 21, can be described as a period of preparation. Up to the age of 7 as the first cycle, lawyers would say that a child has no “mens rea” or criminal intention, and therefore no legal responsibility. But between the age of 18 to 21, the Constitutions of many countries confer full responsibility upon an individual adult. It is a period of transition and the beginning of adulthood and possible parenthood. Assertion of individuality begins!
The second phase of another three cycles of seven years each, which brings an individual to the age of 42, marks a period of struggles, stabilization and service. From the hard struggles and hustles, coupled with vital personal experiences which this period provides, an individual can become either a fool, or a “physician”. Yet we do have fools at 40!
Shakespeare would tell us that “they stumble that run fast”. It is usually between the age of 21-42 that many people stumble through vaulting ambition, vanity and arrogance, seeking to run faster than their legs can carry them. The third phase of the third cycle of another 7 years x3, bringing an individual to the age of 63 as the peak, marks the highest point in life.
The third phase of cycles of sevens can be described as the highest point of progression, which is meant to be followed by a period of Sabbath, which would include retirement, retrospection and giving back to society one’s accumulated experiences. The additional cycle of seven years after the age of 63, brining an individual to the age of 70, is a particularly significant period which many senior citizens waste away.
The Septimal Law or cycles of seven years in the progressive scale and music of life can be better appreciated by dividing 63 by 7 which would be 9. The significance of 9 in human cycles of life can be expressed in the 9 months of gestation in the conception and birth of human babies. Similarly, from birth, the cycles of seven years terminate in the 9th cycle which falls at the age of 63. In our hurry through life, we ignore apparently insignificance indicators that would have led us to higher recognitions.
The cycles of human life progress in sequences of seven years and in three phases which, ending at the age of 63, calls for a Sabbath which has deeper meanings than. Adventists day of worship. The cycles and phases of life have some definite contents, demanding that things be done at definite times prescribed for them. Increasing cases of prostate enlargement in men and fibroid and breast cancer in women are indicative of right adjustments that humans need to make. Taking a clue from music, we find that there are certain range of sound-waves, measured in what is known as decibel, which the human ears cannot pick up.
What is known as span of control in management is also indicative of the fact that there are prescribed range and limits of what an individual is meant to handle, which differ widely among human beings. One common mistake which many people make is the over-stretching of individual limits, range or span of control, thereby over-taking elasticity limits. Common idiom expresses it as biting more than one can chew. Ranging from politicians sitting tight in office, to civil servants altering their age so as to stay longer in service, individuals distort their life-cycles.
From over-stretching our energy, to over-stretching our finances, a part of the problems which visit individuals in old age arise from inability to observe the Jubilee and Sabbath prescribed in the cycles of life such observances are meant to provide for stability and balance in the journey of life, like we find rests and stanzas in music.
What we call melody and harmony in music come about from an orderly combination and coordination of sound-waves from various instruments. Like the musical octave and notes arranged in a definite pattern of progression, melody and harmony can arise if appropriate rhythms, chords and rests are recognized and observed. One of the purposes of the cycles and phases of life is to ensure that progression from below upwards is done in a systematic order, like the arrangement in the production of musical sounds. Similarly, learning process demands going from the immediate and nearest, to the distant or remote.
Apart from the encephalocodal law mentioned earlier, there is also a proximodal law, in human cycles of progression. This second law prescribes that growth and endeavours must start from what exists readily at hand and at one’s immediate proximity and disposal, before stretching out further for what lies at a distance. From child upbrining, family relationships, to other engagements, harmony and stability can be facilitated where things are done at the most appropriate time and manner. Neither is it proper to put any resources to the use which it is not meant to serve.
Challenges associated with ageing process
Although geneticists would tell us that the fate of every individual is stamped in the genes through DNA, every individual is endowed with a personal volition which is meant to serve as a means of modifying and reshaping destiny. Ailing health which is one of various challenges that humans face, can be addressed and managed through disciplined and healthy lifestyle, including balanced diet and regular exercises. The mind also plays a vital role in health matters, such that drugs play secondary and supporting role.
Ailing economy also brings financial strains to many people which individuals address according to their resourceful abilities and connections. From unemployment to having to cater for large families, financial challenges are quite widespread in Nigeria, which people try to bear as much as they can, including cutting down on food and other necessities of life. For older people there are challenges of having less activities to engage in. This situation is particularly worse for retirees whose children have grown and are on their own. Many people address these challenges by engaging in religious, political and humanitarian activities, or belonging to some clubs of various kinds.
Diligent and effective use of leisure hours can be the challenges which some people have, but these can be addressed by going back to the land to farm, rear some livestock or engage in creative hobbies. The most disturbing challenge is having to live with a troubled conscience, arising from unethical and corrupt practices in the course of growing old.
Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.