“Its not how old you are, its how you are old.”
― Jules Renard
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/224285.Jules_Renard
Age is Only a Number
Several readers reponded to my post “Time Out”. They revealed to me that they feel much younger than their biological age. I agree.
As we get older we often get preoccupied by the health of our physical bodies and lament that we can no longer run long distances or party all night long. We forget about the parts that aren’t aging.
Portrayals Beyond Middle Age
We can also feel old because the culture tells us that old means old. Look at the way older people are portrayed in books and media. Old fictional characters are usually parents or grandparents; they connote wisdom, caution, and prudence. They are usually not the central characters and are incidental to the main story. There are numerous scenes on the travails of aging.
The worst portayals are for the very old. How many stories and tales have we read where the villain is the old crone, the old miser, the hag, the codger? Old people are described as ancient relics, who are dilapitated, feeble, senile, wizened, grumpy, and crotchety.
https://curioushistorian.com/legendary-grannies-hags-in-celtic-myths
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/128423026844891576/
Downhill Slide
Our culture seems to suggest life is a long letdown beyond middle age. Retiree’s are past their prime, put out to pasture, irrelevant and unproductive. Old people are expendable or superfluous in many analyses. Economists seem concerned that the aging population is a huge burden on society and the economy.
Mental Age
Old people may be retired, but they are not irrelevant or out to pasture. They are not crones and codgers!
What’s the lesson here? For myself I don’t see myself as being old. Parts of me still feel like I was 20, 30 or 40 years ago. My personality hasn’t changed too much. I can still be silly, impulsive, adventurous, or witty. I sometimes am a goof or a joker! I proudly say I still have an immaturity that doesn’t seem to go away.
Innate Personality
Probably most of our personality traits were imprinted by our DNA, and were present since birth. There are parts of us we cannot change and probably don’t want to change. Our spirit and soul are built around these fundamental traits. Our spirit is full of life energy. When we feel our true selves, we feel young at heart. I imagine this spark will glow until the very end.
Benefits of Age
Being old can be freedom to be who we really are. Lifelong challenges of parenting and career often meant sacrificing our own needs. Now we have an opportunity to explore other parts of our personality. We can relax. We can do things for the fun of it.
A New Childhood
Children have no standards for playing tag, making mud pies, or drawing with crayons. We can do things badly as long as we enjoy it. Let’s have some fun! Let’s share our humour and provoke creative inspiration. Let’s re-create our childhood enjoyment of playtime.
If we allow it, the lawyer can become a chef, possibly a novice but happy chef. The bricklayer can be a sculptor, the nurse an artist, the executive a musician, the truck driver a cyclist.
“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” ― Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker
When we meet our friends and colleagues, let’s overlook the signs of aging. Beneath the physical exterior shines a wonderful youthful spirit!
Image from1888 German postcard, later adapted by William Ely Hill, who published it in a humor magazine in 1915
Humour
“God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.”
“I feel like my body has gotten out of shape, so I joined a fitness club. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But by the time I got my leotards on, the class was already over.”
https://www.scarymommy.com/jokes-seniors
Well done Ron! I find your blog very relatable, and inspiring. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.