Getting Older

In my mind, I'm 24 years old.  My driver's license says something else, but I plan to retain my youthful attitude.  Just because the clock ticks away doesn't mean we have to lose our "joie de vivre" (zest for life).

I'm older than you guys and can report some good news from that front -- getting old isn't necessarily bad.  There are some valuable advantages to it.

First, you're witness to history.  I remember JFK being shot.  I was only six years old so I didn't know exactly what was happening but I was stunned to see all the adults around me crying.  Really crying.  They were all in a state of extreme shock.  You remember an experience like that.

I saw the Vietnam War tear our country apart.  Families argued and teenagers left home.  Thousands of young men died.  Society was more chaotic than I ever imagined it could become.  The "generation gap" became real.  A rallying cry of the time was "Don't Trust Anyone Over 30."

A second advantage to growing old is that it gives you perspective.  Things that consume you when you are young -- like advancing in a career, getting married and fitting into society -- become much less vital as you age.   You realize the opinions and rules of other people matter little and you feel more free to do what you personally care about.

I just finished a book which made this point in reference to artists.  The book reports that most serious artists do different work in their later years than in their youth.  When they are older, artists care more about the intrinsic quality of their work than the social reception to it.  When you're young, you want everyone to love and respect you.  When you're older, you care less about that and more about doing what YOU think is valuable.

How old are you in your head?  12?  22? 46?

This is me at a Christmas Party in my childhood.

As hard as it is to believe, this is also me,

during my adolescent years, trying to look tough.