罗伯特·N. 巴特勒(Robert N. Butler)
What is it like to be old? What will our own lives be like when we are old? People often find it difficult to think about old age until they are propelled into the midst of it by their own aging and that of relatives and friends. Aging is the neglected stepchild of the human life cycle. Though we have begun to examine the socially taboo subjects of dying and death, we have leaped over that long period of time preceding death known as old age. In truth, it is easier to manage the problem of death than the problem of living as an old person. Death is a dramatic, one-time crisis while old age is a day-by-day and year-by-year confrontation with powerful external and internal forces, a bittersweet coming to terms with one's own personality and one's life.
Old age is neither inherently miserable nor inherently sublime — like every stage of life it has problems, joys, fears and potentials. The process of aging and eventual death must ultimately be accepted as the natural progression of the life cycle, the old completing their prescribed life spans and making way for the young. Much that is unique in old age in fact derives from the reality of aging and the imminence of death. The old must clarify and find use for what they have attained in a lifetime of learning and adapting; they must conserve strength and resources where necessary and adjust creatively to those changes and losses that occur as part of the aging experience. The elderly have the potential for qualities of human reflection and observation which can only come from having lived an entire life span. There is a lifetime accumulation of personality and experience which is available to be used and enjoyed.
- propel [prəˈpel] v. 推动
- taboo [təˈbuː] a. 禁忌的，忌讳的
- sublime [səˈblaɪm] a. 崇高的，卓越的
老年是什么样子呢？我们老的时候自己的生活会是什么样子呢？人们常常发现，只有等到自己或亲朋好友被时间推向老年期才会意识到老年这个问题。老年化在人类生活的周期中，就好像后娘养的孩子一样容易被忽略。虽然我们已经开始研究有关生死的社会禁忌课题，我们却避开了人在死亡之前的、称为老年期的一段较长的阶段。事实上，处理死亡问题要比处理老年化问题容易得多。死亡是突然的、一次性的危机，而老年则是日复一日、年复一年要经历的，有较大的内外压力，一种苦甜参半的感觉，跟自己的个性和生命妥协。
老年从遗传角度看无所谓痛苦或高尚——跟生命的每个时期一样，老年有自己的问题、欢乐、畏惧和潜能。老年化和最终死亡的过程，到头来非得作为生命周期的自然进程而接受。老者走完了他预设的寿命期限，给年轻人让路。人在暮年所表现出的优异独特的东西，事实上来源于认识到了衰老的现实和死亡的临近。老年人必须对一生中所学、所获了然于心， 并把它们派上用场，尽可能地保存体力和资源，并且创造性地适应变化和损失，这是意志过程中的一个部分。长者有能力对人类进行种种反思和多方位观察，这种反思和观察能力只能来自走完了漫长的人生旅途之后。老者一生积累的个性与经验，可以利用，可以分享。
罗伯特·N. 巴特勒(1927— )，美国生物学家和老年学家，作品有《老年化健康和精神健康：心理社会和生物医药方法》(Aging and Mental Health: Positive Psychosocial and Biomedical Approaches ,1998)，《长寿与生活质量：机遇与挑战》(Longevity and Quality of Life: Opportunities and Challenges ,2000,与Clavde Jasimin合作)，《美国老年人的生活》(Life in an Older America, 1999)等。