Aging: Reflections on Turning Fifty…
Fifty! Wow…who would have thought? In short order, yours truly will turn a page of personal history, and vacate my forties to cross into my fifties. Or as one bartender put it: exchange the “young” years for the “ripe” years. Not sure I like the sound of that, but fact is there’s no stopping any of us from getting any “riper.” And let’s face it – the alternative is none too pleasing.
In a society where billions are spent each year upon looking younger, staying younger, and acting younger, aging has become an anathema. It’s as if it doesn’t exist anymore; it’s as if we’re under some mass spell telling us that old age is the worst thing that can happen to us. Clichés abound: “Age is only a number,” “Fifty is the new forty,” and “You’re as young as you act.”
Please…enough already, enough with all of the contrived denials! Whatever happened to aging gracefully? Whatever happened to replacing youthful ignorance with aging wisdom? Have we become so vain to think that we can escape the natural progression of life and defeat Mother Nature at her own game? I’m the first to admit the importance of a healthy lifestyle, combined with eating right and exercising regularly, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that we’ll live forever, because we won’t.
And because we won’t live forever, the aforementioned clichés are sheer bunk, and do nothing but leave us with a false sense of security. Like the morning caffeine jolt – they provide relief from weariness, but once the edge is gone, we’re back to feeling more tired than before. Age is NOT only a number; fifty is NOT the new forty, and you’re NOT as young as you act. And frankly we shouldn’t have it any other way.
To say age is only a number is to deny the essence of life (see Acceptance, Self-Belief and a Rising Phoenix…). Life is composed of years, and just as the seasons each have their own beautiful characteristics, each year within our lives brings special meaning with it. Life at twenty-five is different than life at fifty, and so it should be. Our entire existence is the total sum of previous experiences, and the person we may have been at twenty-five we are no longer at fifty.
As the years pass, each year builds upon the previous to form yet another unique period within our lives. But therein is life’s beauty: it is with aging that we experience the full gamut that life has to offer, and how we experience life at any particular point in time is unique to any other point in time.
“Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age,” wrote French writer Victor Hugo (1802-1885).
As fifty rapidly approaches, I shall do well to bear this in mind. And I shall do well to embrace the youth of old age…
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Love this one Al! My Grandmother asked me when I was 9 if I could be any age I wanted to be how old would I be. I thought about it and said 9, she told me that was exactly the right answer. If she was here today to ask me again I would again tell her I would not be any happier any age than the age I am right now. Enjoy 50 Al!
Thanks Nicole. Your grandmother was quite right. Life is about living in the now, and whatever that now is, don’t resist it, but accept it for all that it is worth. Thanks for sharing!
Well said Al. Happy 50th and Happy 50’s my friend
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