THE FACT OF THE MATTER
BY PAUL HOPKINS
It seems like it was only yesterday that I wrote in this column, Where did that year go, what with 2024 just upon us? Now, here I am again, wondering where the last 12 months went. I may not be any the wiser but I am, unfortunately, another year older and it seems, with each passing year, time flies at an alarming pace.
In research from the University of Kansas to understand this phenomenon, scientists tested the theory, first proposed by the contemporary physicist and philosopher Douglas Hofstadter, that time appears to speed up because we start grouping distinct individual experiences into larger ‘chunks’, like all our Christmases into one.
When we are young we have many big moments, experienced for the first time. So, going to a park can be quite a big deal, with many memorable sensations experienced. But, as you grow older, going to that park offers fewer and fewer new experiences. So, we start collapsing them into memory ‘chunks’, putting everything that happened simply under ‘a walk in the park’ — making that particular span of time feel brief. At least that’s Hofstadter’s contention and backed up by the findings at the University of Kansas.
Although I do my very best not to dwell on this inevitable aspect of ageing, I can imagine that, for many people of my vintage, perceiving life as rapidly slipping away can prove unpleasant and somewhat demotivating, psychologically harmful even which may in part explain mid-life depression for many people. Or, at the very least, a sense of nostalgia for things gone by, to which I put my hands up.
A new Irish study, released earlier this month, shows that we are all living longer. It’s a Western world factor too. Centenarians here were born before the foundation of the State and are one of the fastest-growing demographics in Ireland. (There’s hope for me yet.) The study gives a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of people who have lived beyond 100 years.
The group — who have lived through the Civil War, World War II, the advent of electricity and the Moon landing, never mind the smartphone — has almost doubled in five years to 736 last year (2023) compared to 386 in 2018. While advances in medicine and better nutrition are cited as reasons to explain exceptionally long lives, the Irish study has also examined the psychological and social factors. The study of 17 Irish centenarians — 10 women and seven men — gives an insight into their childhoods, their ties to family and friends, their religious beliefs and their outlook on lifestyle and ageing itself.
The pivotal role of the family was a theme that ran through the study. Many participants recalled being nurtured and protected and most remembered their childhoods in a “remarkably positive manner” despite their various hardships during a “tumultuous epoch of Irish history”. Participants also remarked on the value of belonging to their wider communities.
The author of the study, Dr Alison Fagan, a lecturer at the Department of Nursing and Healthcare at the Technological University of the Shannon, said: “What became really apparent from the interviews was the absolute importance centenarians placed on their social connectedness. This connectivity though wasn’t something that became significant as they aged, but was notable throughout their lifetimes. They placed a lot of emphasis on relationships that were curated and fostered from a young age.”
She said religion also fostered friendships and relationships in their lives.
Meantime, I endeavour to live life each day in the ‘moment’. A kind of mindfulness, if you like, which is all the buzz at the moment. Living ‘in the moment’ seems to allow me to appreciate such moments more fully, creating meaningful memories.
At the end of the day, these days I find myself more often re-sensitised to the satisfaction of the simple things life offers. Spring was never so vibrant but autumn does, most days, seem richly gold. Increasingly, I find people are of abiding interest — observed on the street, overheard on the bus, down the pub of an evening. Small pleasures have greater meaning now; that pint, the walk by the mill, my best female friend, my daughter’s phone call, my four beautiful granddaughters…
In their own way, such simple things counteract life’s quickening pace.
That I have lived another year is a miracle in itself. May your New Year bring you all the good life has to offer.
Miracles even…
