Responses on Age and Aging

Comment by bonnie on February 7, 2010 at 11:23am

Re: SW's comment ~ my daughter (15) says I am old (lol), and occasionally tells me I can't possibly know about her situations. I'm starting to wonder if it's just, perhaps, because since they have no way of knowing what those older than them have experienced, they can't possibly comprehend that older people could know the experiences of the young. They only see the present (and perhaps occasionally, the future) while older people can see the past, as well as the present and future...

Comment by Deborah on February 7, 2010 at 11:25am

Oh, awesome vlog topic! I've noticed IM's extreme fear of aging (mortality, I suppose), also.

At 53, I am now seen as an "old woman," and I find reactions to me from some individuals becoming different, like I am less valid or something. Very weird.

My mother always said that miserable old people were miserable young people, most likely.

You, madame, are the most vibrant spirit here/ and if that means young, than you are younger than these people who are rigid in their minds. Hopefully, for them, time and experience will free them.

The freedom that comes after looking one's own mortality right in the eyeballs is priceless. I know that.

Comment by Tahllulah on February 7, 2010 at 11:48am

I often experience myself at all ages simultaneously. The child, the young girl, the young woman are still with me. Personally, I have all my life resonated with the idea of the old me. At 54, I am finally becoming more of who I am.

Facing death has certainly colored my view on mortality and am grateful for the time I have. In another time period, I would have been dead many times over.

Enjoyed this vlog very much.

Comment by JohnAintWright on February 7, 2010 at 11:54am

many of my friends are in their 70s...I went to a bar the other night and everyone was my age and younger. I felt very uncomfortable and out of place.. the behavior of some of those people was embarrassing to me.

Comment by mark on February 7, 2010 at 11:59am

I love you , your youthful mind is ageless in its wisdom of sharing a view.

Play On till its time to rest, You Rock =)

Comment by Geoff on February 7, 2010 at 12:13pm

I think SW might have meant she wasn't crazy about older people "making an effort" to bridge the generation gap. Somehow, that usually seems to underline the gap. It usually comes off as slightly patronizing and it kinda flattens the younger person's individuality into their entire generation. It's just something that happens and pretty soon SW will be doing it too.

Tara, tell me if I'm misrepresenting you, and tree, do you remember how you felt when adults were cooing over your harpsichord playing when you were a kid? Was there something stifling about their appreciation sometimes?

Comment by SydTheSkeptic on February 7, 2010 at 12:16pm

Age is opportunity no less,
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Morituri Salutamus

Comment by christine on February 7, 2010 at 12:19pm

Very interesting. My mum is 84 and she is fitter than me, can walk much quicker and can do three quite difficult crosswords from the newspaper every day with no trouble whereas I can't do them at all lol
I think old is when we lose our faculties, become deaf and stiff and can't get about. There is no need to feel old inside at all. I feel younger now than I did ten years ago, purely because I don't feel 'heavy' from lack of sleep and worrying about growing children now.
Some people are old in attitude at 20 in fact. I am still child like and intend to remain so till I croak. Fabulous vlog. Rock on I say !!

Comment by Ken (rivrvlogr) on February 7, 2010 at 1:21pm

Regarding SW's comment, I like Bonnie's comment below.

A person may be considered old by some, due his way of thinking - perhaps considered outdated. But, even if that person is seventy (for example), he would not have been dismissed for thinking that way when he was thirty. So, if he has reasoning ability, why shouldn't he be allowed to attempt to relate to the situation of someone younger.

I've always considered aging to be a state of mind. I was wondering why recent comments were drawing me to the topic, and I decided it's simply because I'm in, or approaching, their referenced "category". I've also decided that, as often as I hear it, it won't change my state of mind.

I might have worded it to sound like I expect to be cantankerous in the future (in fact, I realized that as I was editing), but I meant that it's a choice I don't plan on making.

Yes, as I said, it's always right around the corner. I could have been killed at 27, but the thought never occurred to me at the time. That's why I referenced the incident. It's always there, but so is breathing, and I never think about that. It wasn't that I felt invincible. I sold my bike and went a year without one (mainly because I didn't relish the pain of another accident), but I bought a new motorcycle the following year. Death never was a consideration.

About five years later, I was horsing around, swinging on a vine (the child is always in me). The vine broke on the upswing and I fell ten feet, landing on my head. I walked away. My wife said she'd kill me if I ever did that again. I told her she probably wouldn't have to. It would be taken care of for her. Since those days, I've simply adjusted myself to my limitations, but I still have a tendency to challenge common sense (that child, again).

Yes, thinking about it is irrelevant. It's never been a consideration. And no, you are not old. People may judge you by the shell that surrounds you, but you know better.

I really appreciate this response.

Comment by Ken (rivrvlogr) on February 7, 2010 at 1:56pm

I like this thought. I need to find that comment, so I can see the context.

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page