SENESCENCE or biological ageing is the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms. The word senescence can refer to either cellular senescence or to senescence of the whole organism. The deterioration or ageing leads to debility and debility leads to handicaps that need assistance at every juncture.

Plants take senescence as an opportunity to regrow and develop and start a new life after every abscission. Animals accept ageing as it comes, adjusting their lives to the degrowing strength and living life nonchalantly. But we humans don’t accept this phenomenon of life, the degrowth of the body and senses make us weary and the struggle to fight this natural phenomenon begins.

Ageing is a natural phenomenon and to age gracefully is our holy duty. Our body keeps giving us signals as senescence sneaks in though you try your best to keep it away. Your ability to do things reaches a peak and then begins to come down. At this juncture, it becomes imperative to accept the debility that starts peeping in and befriend it. There are some beautiful examples of adjustment to senescence in today’s world where youth and beauty are valued more and the experience that comes with age is more important that the rigour of youth.

A famous businessman has handed over the duties of looking after his business to his children and while he took a back seat. This I feel is a very mature and a smart way to do things as he adjusts to his ageing and his children get the advantage of his experience and the business goes on.

As we march ahead on the age graph like trees, our leaves too turn yellow and lose the ability to produce the life-enriching juices, but like plants, we cannot shed the yellow leaves and move ahead. We have to survive with the debility. So what can be done? I feel we must start afresh. Simple daily activities like walking or sitting down on the floor or even sleeping properly become difficult as we age and it starts at early old age that is the fifties, I call it yoldage or young old age, when simple activities are to be relearnt, walking without having difficulty in breathing, sitting down on the floor and getting up easily, falling asleep easily everything needs to be relearnt. If we learn these simple life-saving hacks, our yellow leaves can be refurbished and the flow of life-giving juices can be revived.

But it is not as simple as it seems because our mind resists and convinces us otherwise. I know many healthy aged people in their nineties who lead a life that can put a young man to shame.

These geriatric youngsters continue their activities independently without their children’s help. The thing that drives them is their acceptance of the realities of life and no expectations from others. They allow freedom to their children as they value and respect their own freedom.

Age catches up and green leaves turn yellow and eventually fall, but the yellow leaves dance as they fall and disappear in the womb of the Earth. We, the humans, the smartest beings on this planet need to learn the art of ageing and turn senescence into the renaissance and add beauty to old age.