I don’t understand why people are so upset about growing older. Growing older is such fun, watching the twist and turns life takes. Even if I could I wouldn’t go back to being younger. Life just keeps getting better.

I do remember when I dreaded getting older. I thought turning 50 was the worst thing that could ever happen to me. It wasn’t. What I learned is that growing older beats the alternative, and the alternative, dying, is going to come sooner than later; so why waste it worrying about something we can’t prevent. Why not enjoy each year, each day, each moment to the fullest.

If you have not read the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, please do. It is one of those books that changed my life. One of the most profound passages in the book is on page 120, when Morrie and Mitch are having a conversation about the fear of aging. Morrie says to Mitch:

“Mitch, it is impossible for the old not to envy the young. But the issue is to accept who you are and revel in that. This is your time to be in your thirties. I had my time to be in my thirties, and now is my time to be seventy-eight. You have to find what is good, true, and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue. The truth is, part of me is every age. I’m a three year old, I’m a five year old, I’m a thirty seven year old, and I’m a fifty year old. I’ve been through all of them, and I know what it’s like. I delight in being a child when it’s appropriate to be a child. I delight in being a wise old man when it’s appropriate to be a wise old man. Think of all I can be! I am every age, up to my own. Do you understand?”

The next time someone tells you to act your age, ask him or her, “Which one?” You have been all of them up to the age you are. And please, never act any older than you are. You will be there soon enough. Simply enjoy where you are and how old you are. Doesn’t getting older beat the alternative?

In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on. Robert Frost

I promise to keep on living as though I expected to live forever. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. Douglas MacArthur

Don’t go through life grow through life. Eric Butterworth

The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it. William James

Written by deanna-admin