Challenge of Old Age

Old age is rushing upon me and with it ailments and weakness and desertion. It is a challenge unbearable in nature. Parting from active and productive life is painful. It is when achievements and wisdom lose their meaning. A person faces demise and decay all alone.

Gone are the days when kiths and kins would spend hours tending their elders. They were at their service at the beckoning of a finger. Now every soul is busy in material pursuit and electronic media. The senior citizens are a deserted lot.

Only one thing can ensure dignity and relief for a doomed person. Pure and deep faith in God and Hereafter is the key to peace and tranquility. Even services bought with money cannot substitute the Faith.

Deep faith in God is not easy to come by. It needs a lifelong struggle and practice in the right direction. That’s why generally we are all losers in the end.

I feel like a defeated person. Am I a total failure? I am drowning in mid ocean and there is no straw to hold on. Only yesterday I had stories of success and tales of accomplishment. I had desires, ambitions and goals. Now my mind is blank, no direction in life, a forlorn person. What has taken away my values and valor? Something has devalued my person, thrown me into an abyss. I went to visit Faisalabad, a place of my childhood and youth. I went to visit my father’s grave. I went to several relatives. Faisalabad had magical attraction for me, a thing of the past. Now all this visiting is aimless. There is no charm; the spirit of life is gone. I still have sound body ands sound mind. I can jog around a block. I have prospect of years of healthy life but the charm of life is gone. Money is there to spend. I neither cherish food not get anything out of travel. Life has become barren.

I need meaning in life and a feeling of accomplishment. I badly need spiritual contact with God. In spite of sage wisdom, why am I a helpless and far gone person? Meaning of life is gone. Friends have disappeared. The concepts of friendship and love are vague. I can only pray and ask refuge with Almighty God.