This article discusses the challenges of aging, both from an abstract, universal perspective as well as from a personal perspective, and the challenges I have faced recently.
Introduction
I must admit that my expectations of what old age would be like were overly idealistic, maybe even an indulgence in easy or wishful thinking; in the Japanese vernacular language, my thinking about old age was overly amai, or “sweet”. In southern plantation style, I would sit out on the back porch, collect my retirement checks, sip my mint juleps and enjoy the rest of my days, calm and serene, in peace and quiet. Or, if you prefer an old Western movie, I would enjoy a leisurely horseback ride off into the sunset… As they say, “Happy trails to you…” Or, if science fiction is more your cup of tea, I would just look up over my shoulder and holler, “Beam me up, Scotty,” and that would be it. Case closed, end of story, as they say.
What I have found has been quite the opposite. Old age is no walk in the park, to put it mildly. As I am doing my best to navigate its challenges, I am constantly faced with stark and unforgiving challenges that I must face, and meet – challenges that demand that I constantly prioritize, reassess or correct my course, and above all, continue to be as flexible and adaptable as I can be. The changes that are confronting me as I age are also demanding that I always keep tabs on the practical realities of life – something that is not exactly my forte, since I am basically an artistic and creative individual. It’s OK to be spiritual, especially if that is an important or essential part of your inner nature and temperament, but at the same time, that old saying keeps thrusting itself into my conscious awareness, that I need to keep my feet on the ground, even if I have my head up in the clouds.
Old Age as a Time of Karmic Reckoning
For me, old age has come as a time when all of a sudden, you find out that the whole landscape you are passing through has changed, even without your realizing it. The rug has been pulled out from under your feet, and you suddenly realize, after you reached a point, usually in middle age, when you thought you had things all figured out, that all the basic rules of the game, so to speak, have suddenly been changed on you, without warning. Although the most obvious area of one’s life in which the challenges one faces are the most grave is usually – and even correctly, I might add – seen to be in the area of one’s health, no area or domain of life seems to be immune or impervious to this urgent need for reassessment, and a course correction, if necessary.
After considerable contemplation of my situation, and the basic realities of old age in general, I think I have it all figured out: Old age is a time of karmic reckoning. As the popular saying goes, “Karma is a bitch” – or at least it can be. As I see it, old age is a time for a karmic reckoning or course correction, in which one winds up atoning for the excesses or indiscretions of one’s younger years, if necessary, and if the course corrections that need to be made are serious or major, it’s mea culpa time, big time, as you scramble to clean up your act. Mea culpa: I must admit that I wasn’t a big one for practicality and planning, so now I have to atone for that; neither was I a great model of diligence and industry in my younger years, so now I have to atone for that as well. This website is oriented towards health and healing, but I must admit that I haven’t exactly been a paragon of virtue in that department either. As an old girlfriend of mine liked to say about me, I go off to a foreign country the way most people go down to the corner drugstore – and as everyone knows, eating on the road is often not a very healthy or wholesome option. And now, those problems are catching up with me, karmically speaking.
So there – I have just made my own personal confession, but to put this whole process of karmic course correction or reckoning into a more universal perspective, whatever, whoever, or however one was in one’s younger years must be taken into account, and, if deemed necessary or even desirable, a karmic course correction should be made. Of course, there are also those who are so unaware, or so locked into their own rigid patterns of routine behavior that it may be too late, or even impossible, for them to undertake a course correction, and way too many of those people go marching off, as if over a cliff, to their inevitable death or demise. But if the spark of self awareness should dawn, and here’s to hoping that it will, a positive change can be made for the better, in whatever way or on whatever level a course correction needs to be made, whether that be physically, mentally or spiritually. This can be such a blessed event that you can almost hear the angels singing, “Hallelujah!” in the background.
Youth versus Maturity and Old Age: A Yin / Yang Polarity of Greek Medicine
When it comes to holistic healing paradigms and the basic pathophysiological concepts that they are composed of, it is possible to look at things in terms of a kind of numerology of holistic healing. I have studied both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and in terms of their holistic healing numerology, they are quite different. Ayurveda has its three Doshas and its Five Elements, and from a numerological point of view, these are both based on odd numbers – three and five. Chinese Medicine is more even number based, since its fundamental guiding principle is Yin and Yang, or the law of complementary opposites in Nature. In terms of even numbers, Chinese Medicine has not only Yin and Yang, but also the Eight Principles of diagnosis, as well as the four energies and essences that can be tonified, and the four diagnostic methods. In terms of odd numbers, Chinese Medicine has the Five Elements, which are actually quite different than the Five Elements of Ayurveda; they also have the Three Treasures, the three disorders of blockage or stagnation, and so on, for a good mix of even and odd numbers.
Numerologically speaking, Greek Medicine comes down quite heavily on the side of even numbers, as well as the dualism of complementary opposites of which all even numbers are composed. Most specifically, Greek Medicine is enamored with the number four: Four Basic Qualities, Four Elements, Four Temperaments, Four Faculties, Four Administrative Virtues, and so on – and let’s not forget that there are four seasons in the year as well. Another even number in Greek Medicine is the Six Environmental Factors, which forms the basis of the diagnostic interview or medical history. On the side of the odd numbers, the main one that comes to mind here is the three forms of Pneuma, or the Vital Force. Because there are Four Humors in Greek Medicine, it just so works out that they are configured in two Yin / Yang pairs of complementary opposites. The pair of complementary opposite humors that best delineates the essential differences or dichotomies between youth and old age are Blood or the Sanguine humor, which is the humor of youth, versus Black Bile or the Melancholic humor, which is the humor that is most associated with maturity, old age and the aging process.
And if you’re into Medical Astrology, the planet that is most associated with the Sanguine qualities of youth is Jupiter, the planet of growth, expansion and optimism, whereas the planet that is most associated with maturity, old age and the aging process is Saturn. So here’s the basic breakdown:
Jupiter / Youth / Sanguine Humor and Temperament / Hot and Wet, or Warm and Moist
Jupiter, the planet of optimism, expansion and growth, is the planet that is most associated with youth and its Sanguine humor and temperament. In Greek Medicine, the basic qualities of Blood, or the Sanguine humor, are Hot and Wet, or Warm and Moist, and these are also the same basic qualities that are necessary for life as well – a moderate amount of warmth coupled with a moderate amount of moisture, with both qualities moderating or counterbalancing the other. Accordingly, the ancient Greeks considered blood to be the very essence of youth, vitality and wellbeing; this is evidenced by the surname, “Youngblood”. Besides being the planet of the Sanguine humor and temperament, Jupiter, the planet of expansion and growth, is also the planet that is most closely associated with the Natural Faculty in Greek Medicine, or the bodily faculty that is responsible for nutrition and growth. The main organ of the Natural Faculty in Greek Medicine is the liver, which could be seen as the kitchen of the body, or the organ that cooks up the Four Humors, which then feed all the organs and tissues of the body. Another way in which generous, expansive Jupiter is associated with the Sanguine humor in Greek Medicine is that the Sanguine humor receives the richest and most generous share of nutrients extracted from food and drink.
Saturn / Maturity and Old Age / Melancholic Humor and Temperament / Cold and Dry
In astrology, Saturn is the polar opposite of Jupiter. Since Jupiter is the main planet associated with Blood or the Sanguine humor, which gets the richest and choicest share of nutrients extracted from food and drink, Jupiter is associated with richness and abundance in general, as well as all states of metabolic and nutritive excess. Saturn, on the other hand, is associated with Black Bile or the Melancholic humor, which gets the poorest and most meager share of nutrients derived from food and drink; therefore, Saturn is associated with conditions of nutritive and metabolic deficiency and lack in general. In Greek Medicine, the Four Humors serve to anchor or root the Four Basic Qualities and hold them in place, as it were; also, since the Sanguine and Melancholic humors are polar opposites in terms of their basic qualities, with the former being Hot and Wet, or warm and moist, and the latter being Cold and Dry, a relative deficiency of blood will make the overall balance of basic qualities colder and dryer than it would be if Blood, or the Sanguine humor, were more abundant. And poor circulation, which results in a poorer perfusion of blood to the organs and tissues, is definitely a common condition associated with the aging process, in whatever organ, tissue or body part may be affected. In Medical Astrology, the Jupiter / Saturn midpoint is called the Metabolic Midpoint, and where it lies, and any other planets it targets by means of the primary quarter or secondary cross-quarter aspects provides valuable information regarding the overall balance point between metabolic excess (Jupiter) and metabolic deficiency (Saturn), and which organs, tissues or body parts may be affected.
Saturn is the main planet associated with the Melancholic humor or Black Bile, which has a thickening, condensing, crystallizing and constricting effect on physiology and metabolism in general. Therefore, in terms of pathology, Saturn is associated with stiffness and hardening, or sclerosis; constriction or narrowing, which is stenosis; coagulation, or the formation of clots; and lithiasis, or the formation of calculi or stones in the biliary or urinary tracts and passages. Interestingly enough, these same pathological changes, which are typically associated with the aging process, often parallel what happens when there is a deficiency of blood supply to the affected part. For example, stiffness, tightness and hardening of the ligaments, tendons and other periarticular structures can be associated both with a deficiency of Blood as with an excess or aggravation of Black Bile. Pneuma, or the Vital Force, is carried on the Blood, or the Sanguine humor, and where Blood is abundant and flowing freely, the Pneuma or Vital Force will be as well. And so, there is a common organ syndrome in TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine called a Stagnation of Liver Qi, with Qi being TCM’s name for the Vital Force; when I went to acupuncture school in the early days of Chinese Medicine licensure here in the United States, another name that was used for this condition or syndrome was Melancholia – in other words, an aggravation of Black Bile in the liver, with a consequent blockage or stagnation of Blood and its Vital Force in that same organ. See how this works?
In Greek Medicine, the Four Humors have profound effects on the Mind and Spirit as well as on the body, and its physiology and metabolism. For example, one’s thinking and overall mindset can also become too fixed and rigid, which could be seen as the psychological and spiritual equivalent of hardening, stiffness and sclerosis. Other negative mental and spiritual tendencies associated with Saturn and Black Bile are depression or melancholy; miserliness, stinginess and misanthropy; and social withdrawal or reclusiveness. On the positive side of the ledger, Saturn is also associated with discipline and structure, as well as the wisdom that can come with aging; the key word here is “can”, because added wisdom does not always come with added years to one’s life. The traditional view of the dawning of wisdom with maturity in Greek Medicine is that the sudden realization that one is “over the hill” initially provokes melancholy or depression, which is then followed, in a normal or balanced personality and mental outlook, by a sense of realism or pragmatism to make the most of however many years one has left; then, if all goes well, finally, wisdom flowers and blooms. If wisdom dawns with maturity, then by all means, the modern consumer culture and mass marketing conglomerates don’t want any of that; they want to keep people as reckless young fools, at least mentally and psychologically, for as long as possible, so they continue to be willing and pliable customers for whatever frivolous or otherwise superfluous stuff they are looking to sell. It’s like one of my former herb patients put it to me: “Everything today is hot, young and fast.” Onward, young fools!
Conclusion: Every Stage of Life Has Its Own Beauty
I have now personally experienced each and every stage of life: the growing years of Youth; Young Adulthood or the peak years of life – “prime time” as it were; maturity or Middle Age; and now, finally, Old Age. And as I have experienced this final stage of life, I have to agree with what an old Romanian girlfriend of mine once said: Fiecare are frumusetsea lui. That’s Romanian for “Every one has its own beauty.” And believe me, even Old Age has its hidden beauties, which are all too often ignored or mindlessly trampled on by those who are too lost in the “rat race” or mad dash to “get yours” or to “get ahead”. And, for all its all too obvious defects and drawbacks, perhaps the prime beauty or virtue of Old Age is an ability to savor golden moments of peace, beauty and tranquility as I have never savored them before – and so, I suppose that’s why they are called “the Golden Years”. And of course, the old adage of aging like fine wine is also applicable here. I also apologize if I have been too reclusive and misanthropic lately; my personal life has been quite tumultuous lately, and I have also had to wrestle with some dark and troubling problems in my personal life.
As I wistfully look back upon my youth, memories of a sweltering summer that I spent as a music major at an opera camp in the Ozarks come back to haunt me. We were involved in a production of Gounod’s “Faust”, with the libretto, originally written in French, I believe, translated into rather quaint and stilted English. And I still remember the words of Dr. Faust’s aria after he has his lost youth restored to him by the diabolical Mephistopheles:
Be mine the delight of beauty’s caresses, their soft wavy tresses, shiny and bright! Be mine the sweet rapture, borne through every vein, passion in a torrent, that none can restrain! O, bounteous treasure, shiny and bright, oh youth without measure, be mine the delight, oh youth without measure – be mine the delight!
Of course, Dr. Faustus made a deal with the devil to get his youth back, and in that plot device may be lurking a hidden message: that we should fully treasure and savor the stage of life that we’re in, and not foolishly try to exchange it for another.