Today’s concept: “Why we fear aging.” I suppose a better title would be “Why DO we fear aging” but I really don’t know. In many ways, aging is a thrill. I had a kid tell me today he found a synonym for “journey,” it was the expedition. I was really proud of that student for noticing that in his reading. Some might say you start out at the top of the cat pole and end up in the litter box. I have to question that. Aging is like a journey, but even more like a expedition, I think.
The other day a little scrappy kid whose brother I had last year in my class yelled across the playground at me: “What’s up Mr. Riley.” I always feel so “hip” when they do that :) What he said next though wasn’t so “hip,”
“You got old Mr. Riley.”
Now at first, I felt sad about this appraisal of my appearance. Then, as any responsible parent or teacher would, I tried to understand why he would say that. I came up empty … I do look older this year! Even though I shave my head and have since I was about 26, the sides are getting quite gray. My goatee is enjoying the same salt and peppering. Usually when I look in the mirror I say: “You get better looking each day.” but alas, I work with truth megaphones aka ;) little kids.
I think we fear getting old because we feel we won’t get what we want out of life. We may fear that others will not like us as much and therefore we won’t be as successful. When I think about it though, most the successful folks I know who are getting what they want out of life are over 50. I haven’t even turned 40 yet.
I told my wife about the incident and she just laughed at me. Maybe you out there can give me a pity party ;)
How are you doing on your aging expedition?
13 Comments
I can tell you why some people fear aging and that is because every year you get older, you get closer to realizing that there is still so much left to do in life, and a year is lost and behind you.
I personally am turning 31 this month and if I could be any age immortally, it would be about 25 or 26. Old enough not to look like a kid, but I would spend a life time collecting knowledge and exploring all there is to explore.
I don’t want to get older because I fear time will run out, disease will set in, and most people who save all their money for retirement end up too ill, sick or die before they have the ability to truly go out there and enjoy life.
That’s my Philosophy on the subject anyway.
Dragon Bloggers last blog post..Internet Explorer has always given me trouble with my WordPress Theme and Plug-Ins
Oooooh….I haven’t stopped by your blog in a while & so I finally do…and WHAM!…this one strikes a nerve! HAHA!
Well, I am not doing well at ALL about my aging. I can cope with my AGE…it’s what’s happening to my body all of a sudden that’s freaking me out!
Olga, the Traveling Bras last blog post..Fracas Should Be A Bra-Therapist
I don’t even know how I got here. Was I here yesterday? I don’t know. It’s not reasonable to accept such an idea. Will I be here tomorrow? What tomorrow? Today is today, and that is all I have.
I don’t age. I do sequence thoughts, when I fall asleep and forget that I rule my mind, which I alone must rule, and that my thoughts have nothing to do with who I really am. What is time anyway? Does anyone know?
So what am I thinking? Aging? It is insanity that thinks these things.
Pity? No, we are doing it to ourselves.
Albans last blog post..This Need not Be
Thanks Alban. It is the moment.
I like how you call the kiddos “truth magaphones” – that they are :)
Older means wiser, doesn’t it? :)
Chelles last blog post..How to Make More Time For Each Other
Ok, I’m gonna say it. I don’t care how much “wiser” I get, I don’t like the aging thing at all! Hair color, hormone replacements, my goodness, it’s a lot of upkeep and it’s not cheap, either. ;)
I’m just hoping to one day be 96 and still wearing high heels like my grandmother. She rocks!
Jessica The Rock Chis last blog post..Velocity
I agree with Dragon Blogger the older we get the more we realize there is so much more to do in life but we come to realize the end starts coming up quicker.
I’ll be 30 in 1.5yrs (give or take a month) and I find that ever since I graduated highschool that the years just seem to go by pretty quickly.
I’m not afraid of growing up, but I am afraid of not being able to be financially secure while I get older. I feel that there have been choices ill made when i was younger and things might have worked out better for me but I survive and I am still having the time of my life!
Tyler Ingrams last blog post..Review: Speck iPod Gear ActiveFit Armband
Absolutely. Less panic too because you have been through more case scenraios :).
Tests last blog post..Aging Expedition
Watching your kids grow up, heal, invent, create, and of course eventually have their own kids is the best feeling in the world. I am really looking forward to the latter. But I do understand those frustrations you mention.
The Thirties are when you sort of “grow into your skin.” I think you have more positive ahead than you’ve had behind. Think of how awesome it will be when you are one day “familiar” with manh thing that now are foreign and scary to you. That’s aging to me.
Yeah, it’s hard to keep up with the bras around us sometimes LOL. I meet people older than me all the time who have all their hair and not a speck of gray and I admit, I get a little bitter (privately LOL).
i really find this whole aging thing quite adventuresome. i’m in my early 50s, so, if everything goes as planned (yes, i have it planned), i have another 40 years or so. if i’m lucky, the majority of them will be in relative physical comfort. and the rest … ? well, let’s see.
emotionally, one of the things that strike me as mildly amusing right now is that i am not nearly as special as i used to think. a) maybe i’m approaching more “normality” (whatever that is) as i grow older and b) maybe i was never as wild and crazy as i used to like to think i was. at the same time, i observe that over the years, i have made lifestyle choices that set me irrevocably apart from many of my peers. for example, i can’t imagine ever wanting to spend money on a new car.
anyway, that’s part of my adventure. thanks for a thought-provoking post, as always! (and i hope this comment “sticks” this time)
isabella moris last blog post..september 11 – the happiest day of my life
It stuck! What a great insightful comment. Life is amazing … even as it ages!
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Aging Expedition