Quality of life

I was inspired to rant about the quality of life when I was on the bus this morning, overhearing two gentlemen talking about their mothers and grandmothers' experiences being in old age. Just for your reference, their relatives are all in their 90s. The whole conversation prompted me to think about how people's quality of life change as they age, and their expectation for quality of life change as well. This topic is semi related to Young vs Old post from last December.

Before briefly touching on quality of life at old age, I would like to talk about people ranging the age 20 to 50 having a certain expectation and guidelines for their quality of life. We are all subconsciously trying to improve our quality of life. However, the way that many of us understand the quality of life is not just how much you go to the gym, how much you make, or how much fancy food you can enjoy with whoever people. To me personally, going to the gym makes me feel more fit and healthy, making more money makes me feel more competent as a human being, eating fancy food makes me feel like I am very privileged. They are all guidelines to which I categorize under quality of life, as if doing those things could give me a mental check in my quality of life checklist. However, deep down inside, I believe quality of life is more than our own desire to motivate, enjoy, pamper ourselves.

Quality of life also involves how satisfied, fulfilled, or, for the lack of a better word, blessed you feel on average. My bus driver believed that the quality of life for an senior citizen is more important than the longevity. This is where our view of quality of life is different from say, a dying grandma's view of quality of life. Atul Gwande emphasize in Being Mortal that at the edge of dying, patients tend to grab onto privacy and sentimental matters while sacrificing their time being alive. Legacy is another important matter people think about when facing death. All of those things: connections to others, connections to the self, legacy, etc. all give us ideas about who we are and the roles we have played in relation to others. While Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now indicate being conscious of the presence is important, I believe establishing satisfying meaningful relationships with people around you, and your spiritual higher being (God or Buddha), is an essential part of the quality of life.