Randy Glasbergen’s cartoon yesterday shows two middle-aged men having lunch together. One says,
What’s the world coming to? Everyone at my class reunion had their identity stolen by some old person!
It reminds me of one of our favorite jokes,
Inside every old person there’s a young one saying, “What the heck happened?”
Have you ever felt that way?
July 3, 2015
My dear Jean, no, it has not (yet) happened to me. Maybe I am still to young for that mindset, too fit (physically). Having said that, I am fascinated by how life piles up, numerically. There was a particular birthday I was ecstatic about (not a round number a double number), as off the one looming next I have convinced myself (in a state of hysteria) that the count down will start (in about ten years’ time).
U
Yes, you’re still too young. But give it time. 🙂
I know what the heck happened. I would not like to change one bit of it. If I were to go back to those days, I would do exactly the same things and perhaps some more hair raising too. And that is the insight that Viktor Frankl comes up with:
“The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him?
No, thank you,’ he will think. ‘Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, although these are things which cannot inspire envy.’ ”
From “Logotherapy in a Nutshell”, an essay”
That works for me, too. I’ve never wanted to be younger than I was. I would have to give up too much.
I’m having such a good time and feeling younger and stronger than I did about 5 years ago, that I’ve decided there’s something wrong with my mirror. And camera.
Thanks for your post, Rummuser.
I have a full length mirror in my bedroom now so I can start each day with a laugh. For me it’s not how young and strong I feel — I was happy even when I was flattened for a while with the shingles in my left eye. Once I knew the blurry vision was probably not permanent I was mainly grateful for my eye doctor. She saw me when I needed her. I don’t take that for granted.
After three and a half months the pain is long gone and the itching is getting a lot better. For some reason I think it’s funny.
I don’t think of what’s inside as being any age at all. I just am what I am, whatever I happen to think and feel and enthuse about from day to day. The outside of course is gradually disintegrating but thankfully still functional enough not to hamper my life in any major way.
Actually the idea of having a younger you inside you is a bit odd, because it implies that you haven’t changed in any way since you were (say) in your twenties. If that was really the case, it would create an awful lot of problems.
I notice changes in myself as time goes on and I like the inner ones. I think of myself as a garden, and I pull the weeds and nurture the flowers. I like the way it’s turning out. It’s not goal oriented — it’s the joy of watching things grow.
oh monk! i do like that analogy of the garden…
pulling the weeds and nurturing the flowers. that’s just lovely.
i want to keep growing.
and i want to keep having fun! just enjoyment is very important now.
i have long since stopped worrying how i look. and that alone has been the single most freeing feeling in the world! i want to be fresh and clean.
i love that just showered feeling. and hang the rest of it! life is good.
so very good.
I agree about enjoyment — I think that’s our main job now. The best contribution we can make is to show youngsters the benefits of getting older.
today I left my house not really knowing if I would go further than the localmall/library – as I got off the bus at another Mall about 20mins away I realised I had my art working trousers on! With paint spooches to boot And my sweatershirt withsome stains actually were covered so that bit passed muster…
then i thought “do I care, too bad” and gaily tramped the Mall hallways, looked at mostly people and then went over to that library and lost myself in the world of books etc.
I didn’t feel either old or young – just me, warts and all – but I did feel a tiny bit lonely at one point – lots of families and twosomes but then I realised I didn’t have to please anyone but myself.
I did see an idea for something in my art-making and realised that because my left hand will not bend satisfacotirly in some ways I should use material/textiles I already have and stop worrying abouut creating more…I’m making some thing quite different – when they are done will posr rhew picrruew3 [sorry hands tired, even rigghgtie!}
Good for you for not worrying about what other people thought! As far as your artwork, one of my favorite mottoes is, “Doing the best I can with what I have left.” I hope your hand gets a lot better, but knowing you, you’ll keep going whatever happens.
Almost every single day I wonder that.
I constantly forget how many years I’ve had this body.
My soul is young and sometimes still immature.
I will be talking to someone young and forget the vast gap.
An example, one of the receptionists at work was saying that her grandpa was wishing he could work at the clinic with the animals. She said it was too bad that her grandma wouldn’t allow him to work weekends or holidays or she’d suggest the job opening in Boarding.
I replied that it might be too much for her “grandpa” and asked how old he was.
He was my age.
🙁
What a great story! Thanks. 🙂 Could the grandpa help out during the week? It would be great for his health. Presumably he would be reliable even if he couldn’t work full time.