Rethinking Age
The idea that people in their fifties and sixties are ‘old’, I am finally realizing, must be the construct of younger people. I’m going to turn 56 the day after Christmas and I do not feel old at all. I may not feel old, but I do appreciate the wisdom that is inherent with being on the earth this many years.
It's ironically the same wisdom so many youth think they have prematurely and they (like I used to) will say that age doesn't mean anything and feel they are wise beyond their years. I spent a lifetime being told I was wise beyond my years, in fact, and now I look back and it's the funniest thing because what I knew then compared to what I know now, well I see that no matter how wise I may have been at fifteen, twenty-five, thirty-five or whatever age it was, I wasn’t even holding a candle to where I am now. Have I reached the top now? Hell no! LOL. Now I just have a greater appreciation for those born before me. Not because I should, but because my blinders of youth are finally off and I can simply respect that they have been here longer and living their lives longer than those who were born after them.
I thought it was maybe a cultural thing or societal thing that a lot of the communities I rub elbows with no longer have elders, not the way that indigenous peoples do and frankly even most POC still do. As white people we are missing out and I am starting to think that maybe it's not our culture but more of the focus we place on youth. That importance and focus on youth I am now thinking is a construct of the youth. I know that’s how my friends and I used to think and I wonder how many of our older friends at the time sat back quietly laughing to themselves knowing that we would someday see the bigger picture.
I don’t say this as a slam against people younger than myself, but if it sounds that way, I just ask you to keep this idea in the back of your head and revisit it when you start getting into your fifties, sixties and beyond. I have a feeling you may find you too have come to believe this...and you won’t even feel shame for not getting it earlier! Because that whole wisdom thing..it really starts impacting the way we see things more and more over the years! I’m telling you I should bottle this aging stuff up and sell it. It’s even more misunderstood than the plants I put in these truffles.
Don’t be afraid of getting older. Aging isn't the introduction of new limitations, aging is leveling up. It’s a freaking reward. All of your years of pathwork really start to add up and you really start enjoying the fuck out of life in all kinds of new ways and will have decades’ worth of experience to put in to what’s important to you. 😊🦢🖤🤍
Originally posted ~ November 2021
