The Disturbing Inevitability of Growing Old
Picture this: you wake up one morning sore with grogginess. You get out of bed and drag your feet to the bathroom. In a trance, you stare in the mirror and you see grey scraggly hair and wrinkled sagging skin. It’s like your grandparent is staring back at you in shock. You ask yourself, how has my life passed by so fast?
Arthritic throbbing hands, a hunched aching back, eyes that don’t see, and ears that don’t hear. What good am I for now?
According to a survey done by Harris Poll, 87% of Americans have a fear of getting old. The most feared at 23% was a decline in physical ability, followed by memory loss at 15%, chronic disease and running out of money were both feared at 12%, and death was feared the least at 10%.
It seems like from this poll, most people are afraid of simply not being able to carry out their day like they normally would. Aging is change, and not everyone accepts the adjustment so easily.
When I was little I remember just wanting to be older and on my own. I wanted to be doing adult things. Except like that Trace Adkins hit song says, “You’re Gonna Miss This.” He was right.
I believe these are reasonable fears shared by most people. I’m 21 years young and afraid I don’t have enough time to do everything I want in life. It already feels like all my years have flown by without pausing to let me take a breath.
Where did the hot summer days go with my knees covered in dirt, ice cream melting down my arm, and my only worries consisted of which game I was going to play when I got home?
Or the rush of wild excitement that comes with staying out hours past your curfew? Will this feeling of being young and crazy stay within me even as I age?
I’m not so worried about the way I’ll look in 50 years, but more so if I’ll feel accomplished with what I’ve done. Did I do anything to leave my impact on the world before I am no longer a part of it? Or was my mere existence a blip on the radar? To be fair, most people’s names are only remembered by their loved ones. But maybe, that should be enough.
Yes, growing old IS scary, but I’m not going to let that fear control me for the rest of my life. Beautiful, great things come with age too. As we live our lives we experience, grow and evolve. We learn more about wisdom, strength and purpose. And there are still adventures out there ready to be taken on.
Day by day we get older. We just have to decide what changes we’re going to have to make. I don’t want to be someone who is stuck living in past memories because I’m not open to change and growth.
In each stage of life we have something new to look forward to. I’d like to think when you get older you have more time to focus on yourself and your passions. You become wise and rich with life experiences, stronger with the hardships you may struggle through, and you may find purpose in the free time you have by spending time with loved ones and discovering new things about yourself.
My grandmother is 87 years old and is still kicking and screaming with energy. She has nine children and tons of grandchildren that she runs circles around. She tends her garden, goes to mass every single morning and has traveled around the world to more places than her kids. She doesn’t let her age get in the way of living her life.
Like Albert Einstein said, “Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”
Stay young at heart and you’ll never grow old.
