Author Topic: Old Age is a Gift  (Read 2173 times)

Offline delalluvia

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Old Age is a Gift
« on: March 01, 2008, 03:52:34 pm »
This e-mail story was being passed around work.  Not sure where to put this, but I thought it was sweet:

"Old Age, I  have decided, is a gift. 

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.  Oh, not my body!   I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long. 

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter  belly.  As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.
 
I don't chide myself  for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying  that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio.   I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be  extravagant.   

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they  understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? 

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's, and if I, at the  same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will   dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet  set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car?   But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine and  sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to   have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before  their hair could turn silver.   

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other  people think.  I don't  question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong. 

So, to answer  your question, I like being old. It has set me free.  I like the person I have become.  I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could  have been, or worrying about what will be.  And I shall eat dessert every single day.  (If I feel like it)."

Offline brokeplex

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Re: Old Age is a Gift
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2008, 01:03:05 am »
Del, I sure as hell hope it is a gift, cuz it is coming at me like a freight train. as Dr. Soran said, "you can try to outrun it with potions and pills, but eventually it will catch you for the kill."

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Old Age is a Gift
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2008, 08:00:24 pm »
Del, I sure as hell hope it is a gift, cuz it is coming at me like a freight train. as Dr. Soran said, "you can try to outrun it with potions and pills, but eventually it will catch you for the kill."

It comes for us all.

We just have to enjoy the time we have.  Try to look on the upside.