The Courage of Aging

 

Aging has its pros and cons. There were times when I believed that the minuses outweighed the benefits.

As one ages, one cannot “trust”the physical body any longer, regardless of lifestyle, diet, exercise, etc. Not that making healthy choices doesn’t have benefits; they increase the quality of aging. Obviously though, nothing recalls inevitability more than a body in gradual decline.

However, the main benefit of aging is the coalescing of life experiences into a form of wisdom. The blessings of wisdom are designed to pass on culture, traditions, and lessons-learned to the younger generation, infusing them with sublime meaning.

Unfortunately, in our youth-oriented modern societies, the traditional role of the sage elder is diminished. The meaning of life has been distorted into “productivity.”

Wisdom is impossible to quantify, yet without it life loses all profound purpose and meaning. I hope this generation of elders can reverse or mitigate the dehumanization of contemporary life.

 

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