Hear Those Tiny Cries | Self-fulfillment & Dream Support About Aging

Foreword - nothing can stop the realization of the dream!

I once injured a nerve in the upper right half of my body because the position of the back surgery was very close to the spine, resulting in a sudden weakness in the right half of the hand. I managed to recover a little with hard work, and I was too addicted to practicing some difficult movements of skating. , broke his right hand again.
This injury completely made my right hand unable to hold objects over two or three hundred grams for more than three minutes for a long period of time.
Since my hands need to be completely rested, I switched to an indoor exercise bike to maintain my strength. After my hands were able to stabilize the handlebars, I started to practice cycling outdoors.
It may be difficult for healthy people to notice that when riding a bicycle, the hands need a certain amount of force to maintain the balance of the person and the bike. Even professional athletes will drive the core strength to link the detailed movements of the body, arms and wrists to achieve labor saving and stability.
But for people with weak right hands, even riding in an open area, when the bicycle speed is slow and stable, it is easy to suddenly fall.
(Secretly, no matter how you fall, as long as you retract your hands from both sides to the front of your body at the moment of the fall, you can avoid subconsciously reaching out to support the ground and causing more serious injuries.)

When I was extremely frustrated at the time, I accidentally saw a movie, [ The Knight of the Ages - Diary of Oudou Mai Huantai ]

This documentary mainly records that in 2007, there were 17 elderly people, with an average age of 81, who challenged to ride a motorcycle around the island together!
With different physical health conditions, they have gone through physical training, group riding simulation, team location arrangement, safety learning on each road section, etc. These old knights who add up to a thousand years old set off on the journey.
During the journey of more than 1,000 kilometers, some elderly people quit halfway due to poor health, but most of the elderly people worked hard to the end and completed the impossible task!
Just like the old man who traveled with his wife's photo in the trailer said, this trip may be the last time in his life to complete his dream of going around the island by his own strength, but for him, being able to travel with his wife again is this. The best harvest in the tour!

Compared to these immortal knights, I only have a little inconvenience in my right hand, but I am still young and have good ears and eyesight. If even these old grandparents can chase dreams, then there should be nothing to stop me!
(After a few years of rehabilitation, I also completed my dream of cycling around the island !)

The legend of the old knight

I also noticed the " Kodo Elderly Welfare Foundation " that organized this event because of this movie.

Regarding aging , everyone's attention may focus on long-term care, medical care, home care, community care services, vulnerable relief, meal delivery services, and assistance with home repairs .
However, the " Hongdao Foundation " and a series of " Dream of Ageless" activities planned for the elderly are even more eye-catching.
The above-mentioned motorcycle ride around the island is included.

Lai Qingyan , the head of the first generation of the Knights of Ageless, mentioned in an interview later that,

After a person lives to the age of eighty, it is as if he has been abandoned by society. Taking the bus is disliked and discriminated against; when someone accompanies the tour, the tour group does not like to pick up; even the insurance salesman sees the old man's home, and it seems that he has no chance to insure his own life!

You haven't lived to the age of 80, and you don't know how we feel. As long as you give us a chance, we can do a lot!

The old head also passed away in the third year after his dream of traveling around the island in 2007.
But the ageless spirit of the old head of chasing dreams continued.

The Young Knights Training Edition 2018 - TVBS Interview

2021 edition of the essence of the old knight

In addition to the fleet around the island, the "Hongdao Foundation" also holds auditions every year to screen out 300 elderly people and sponsor them to perform at the Taipei Arena!

In addition to giving the elderly a sense of achievement, such a performance experience can also enable them to "actively welcome the elderly" and allow the participating people to establish a positive perception of "old age".
The purpose of making a documentary is to spread this concept and make the whole society more friendly to the aging population!

In addition, they also formed the "Youth League Baseball Team ". There are a total of 16 teams in the league, with 562 youth baseball players and volunteer players with an average age of 62, located in five counties and cities in Taiwan.

From 2021 onwards, preparations for the " Youth E-sports Team " have also begun. You read that right, it's an electric team!

Every time I see the tidbits of their activities for elderly grandparents in the e-newsletter, even if it is just a photo of taking them to the riverside park for a walk, it will make people feel good after reading it.
So their foundation has always been one of my donation targets for many years.

Dream Support About Aging

Frankly speaking, before I came into contact with the documentary of [The Knight of Ages], I was too young and never thought that an old man in his 80s might still have dreams in his heart! I thought, at that age... there might not be much to do!
But now I know how wrong this idea is!

The old man’s dream is not necessarily like [The Knights of the Ages] will want to go around the island, and it is not necessarily like the protagonist group of the movie [Play All the Way to Hang] burning the last strength of their lives to go skydiving, racing cars, or climbing the Himalayas ( I have a movie experience in this article ).
Maybe it's just like Chen Jialing's grandma in the story of the development of a common girl , who just wants to " realize herself and be herself " in the final stage of life.

If we still hold "the elderly should stay at home and don't run around outside "
If you look at the elderly people around you with this kind of thinking, then they will work too hard!

It was mentioned in the documentary "The Diary of an Old Knight - Odoumai Huantai" that not only the children of most elderly people, but also the volunteers who participated did not fully support these elderly people to take risks regardless of their health at the beginning of the activity. But through their company later, they can fully feel the determination displayed by the elderly, so they are willing to give their all to support!

Two old babies in everyone's house

Over time, my parents got older. Their physical condition is not very good.
Rather than forcing them to recuperate at home, I tend to support them to do what they want to do .

My mother couldn't stand or walk for a long time because of her knee degeneration, but she liked to go to Japan to soak in soup, so before the outbreak of the epidemic, I would take her to appreciate maple trees and soak in soup every year.
The solution for not walking for a long time is to reduce the attractions that need to be moved, or directly join the tour group, so that the elderly can reduce the probability of walking and increase the time for rest.
Although she has not been able to go abroad in the past two years due to the epidemic, it is fortunate that in March of this year, before Taiwan fell into the epidemic crisis, she first drove her to appreciate the beautiful cherry blossom forests in Puli, Guoxing, and water.

In the early days after my father's stroke, his right side had poor mobility, and his logical thinking and speaking skills were also affected.
But since he is addicted to planting trees, in order to make him happy, it is up to him. Seeing him staggering, struggling, still insisting on picking grapes from the tree climbing up and down... It was really frightening to watch from the side.
But until now, he has been able to walk steadily on his own without aids, and there is not much difference in the strength of his hands.
Now I can pick up paper and pen to write the manuscript again, and the sharpness of the Zhan editorial is still the same as before.

From time to time, I will fight with him again. The sky is blue and the mountains are green, and he will start to win or lose with all kinds of king stories from ancient times to the present (he was originally a history professor).
Frankly speaking, in the first half year of his illness, we thought that this famous man had no chance to show his eloquent talent again, and his brain comparable to the encyclopedia of history might never function normally again.
I didn't expect to be able to return to this state now, I really feel very grateful!

I have to say that once the old man is moved, he really looks younger than when he is lying down and recuperating.

Everyone can do their bit to promote age-friendliness

According to the report on the ageing schedule released by the National Development Council of Taiwan in August 2020
It is estimated that by 2025, Taiwan will enter a super-aged society , with 1 in 5 people over the age of 65. By 2034, more than half of the country will be middle-aged and over 50 years old.
At present, the retirement age of labor insurance has been extended to 65 years old. Women can live to 84.2 years old on average, and men can live to 77.7 years old. In the 13 to 25 years after retirement, in addition to considering basic living expenses, in such a long time, you have Haven't thought about what life will be like?

At that time, when we are old, the average life expectancy may continue to be extended, and perhaps we will also carry a little discomfort or inconvenience. If the whole society can give more kindness and support to the aging population, we will experience less hardship!

My bus route to work passes through markets, large parks, mountain climbing entrances, railway stations, etc., so even during work hours, many elderly people who have finished shopping or exercising will continue to get on and off the bus.
And the drivers of this route will also spend time waiting for the elderly to sit firmly before starting.
Such a stop may be delayed for a few minutes, and the time accumulated by the stops along the road should be an anxiety for people who have to rush to work, but everyone is used to it, and I have not seen anyone. So complain about the driver.

Although this is only a small thing, the accumulation of small kindness like this will also create great energy .

postscript

I have to say that the SEO of the official website of the Hongdao Foundation should be very bad (sigh), and a lot of great content is not easy to find through Google, so today I want to share what I have learned over the years.
You can click on the links on the official website above to learn more about this foundation.
Although they are headquartered in Taichung, their service bases include Taipei City, New Taipei City, Changhua, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung. & Fundraising plan link here

Of course, in addition to paying attention to this aging issue, don't forget to make time to come out and hug the old babies at home!

Regarding the dilemma that may be faced in the years before old age and death, I would like to recommend a book as an extended reading of today's topic: what is left after leaving - the meaning of life learned by the relic organizer from the back of the deceased

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