The Ripening…

A friend asked me my views on old age; to be honest this is a subject that stays in the back of our minds but seldom crosses it …here it is ...

The act of getting old is not a voluntary one. Old age neither holds the celebrated charm of childhood nor the enigma of youth. Between the busy mornings and cluttered evenings, appointments and deadlines, work and family, springs and autumns, happy times and prayers…we grow old.

Like the end of a unfinished novel or movie, it’s widely speculated and dreaded.

In reality, old age is marred by the time that erodes the body; convoluted relationships and experiences breed opinions and complications of adjusting in evolving societies. But I believe that the most excruciating thing about old age can be regrets. Life by definition cannot be perfect and most are left with doubts about the decisions on the years lived.

We can speculate and extrapolate but like life old age and its passage, in fact its encounter itself is uncertain; one more reason to live each moment of life to the fullest. In my humble opinion, besides planning for financial stability there is nothing more we can do in preparation of the dawn of senility.

There is a quote that “We Never Really Grow Up; We Only Learn How to act in Public”. I also believe “We never really grow old; we just loose our youth to our experiences.”