What happened today that we went hunting on the street for our sympathetic elderly people, whom until yesterday we gave seats to on buses, who filled us with peace when they showed a small smile when we met them on the street, and whose tales of old times we listened to as if they were fairy tales? He took his phone, the toy of the age, and started chasing the old man with his camera. As if social media was not enough, the hunt for the elderly turned into images that broke rating records even on national channels. I really wonder if anyone thinks about their mental state. Do we look at them from their perspective and empathize with what they feel? However, why are we not aware of the fact that we are getting older every day compared to the previous day? How are human life stages sequenced? We are born, we need care and we do not have the skills to live on our own, as we live, we become independent and as we grow old, we become in need of care again. The life curve starts from zero, after reaching the upper line, it starts to decline towards zero again, and when it reaches the zero point, it is the end of the beginning. This time, there is a difference from infancy and childhood; with all the experiences, a person knows that the end is approaching. After the life curve declines, the increase in mental illnesses such as Alzheimer's, dementia, and late-life depression, as well as physical symptoms such as joint diseases that restrict physical mobility, language speech and vision disorders, may cause negative emotional states such as worthlessness, self-pity, or the inability to tolerate pity. These experiences and knowing that the end is coming shape the reactions of our elderly people.
Some people have suffered throughout their lives, worked and suffered poverty, maybe experienced and lost abundance, and storms are raging inside them with the loneliness and rebellion of having lost many friends. But what are we doing? We are taking away the last trump card they have left at the end of a whole experience, "respect", in order to get a like on social media without trying to understand. We scold and humiliate you by saying it's for your good. We forget that that uncle was once your teacher and maybe even the teacher of your father who raised you. Now we're pretending to be knowing, doesn't he think about the position he had in the past?
Already near the end of his life We tell the elderly who know that they are infected, we say don't go out, you will die, we say there is a virus. He may already be waiting for death. If we could really explain the risk in line with his values, taking his life into consideration, without losing respect, without forgetting his sensitivities, without missing the possibility of his illnesses...
For this, of course, we must first know how to listen. One of the biggest problems we face as a society is that we are unable to communicate. For correct communication, we must first be able to listen. Is listening enough? In fact, there is no point in listening alone; if we do not understand what we are listening to, we will not be listening. We listen not to understand but to criticize, which is not real listening. We need healthy communication in this period when our health is in danger. You may not take life seriously because you don't listen to the fact that life should be taken seriously, but there are people around you who take life seriously and listen.
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