old age

For the past months I see many old men (80-90 year old) in my work. Last night I took care of a quite famous ex-cyclist (85 years old). He tried to tell me he had been a famous cyclist. But his world has already dissapeared, the races, the recognitions, the congratulations, the friends. He was there, breathing with difficulty, still trying to be....
In the shower after the shift, I was thinking about it, and an idea came to my mind (from where?): old age should be a time to be with the "other", with the "Ground", to be in contact with it, to be in "it". Otherwise it would be a meaningless time at the end of a meaningless life.
....and why not do it before old age, also?.......