David Wesley (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} dwesley) wrote,@ 2008-10-22 10:40:00 |
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Profundity
I turned fifty in August.
At the time, it seemed like I should post something really profound, something to show off my accumulated wisdom. But you'll notice it's now two months later, and I'm afraid the delay was not because I had too much material to organize. It appears that I don't have any secret insights to life. I can tell you about where I've been, and where I think I'm going, but the meaning of it all often escapes me. But I'm fifty now, so I have to offer at least a little reflection. I don't really want to, but I think it's a rule or something. So here goes:
As time passes, we get older!!!!!!
That's it. Nothing special. Time doesn't guarantee any additional wisdom. A lot of men go through mid-life crises around this age because they feel like doors are closing. They have the affair and buy the sports car because they are confusing youthful pleasures with pleasures of youth. And the real pleasure of youth is the open ended sense of opportunity, the ability to point your life in whichever direction you choose. But are those opportunities really gone? I can think of three separate careers that I'd probably enjoy more than my current choice except that I'd lose at least half my income and all or most of my benefits if I switched. So, the choices are still there, but there's a cost to making the change that never had to be considered from a youthful perspective. But it's still a choice. And there are plenty of other choices and paths to take that are not so drastic. I can keep my current career and explore other paths, other careers, more easily at age fifty than I could at age twenty.
So, as time passes, we make choices, take paths, and get older. Then we make more choices, take additional paths, and get older still. If we all focus on the choices and paths, does the age really matter?
I turned fifty in August.
At the time, it seemed like I should post something really profound, something to show off my accumulated wisdom. But you'll notice it's now two months later, and I'm afraid the delay was not because I had too much material to organize. It appears that I don't have any secret insights to life. I can tell you about where I've been, and where I think I'm going, but the meaning of it all often escapes me. But I'm fifty now, so I have to offer at least a little reflection. I don't really want to, but I think it's a rule or something. So here goes:
As time passes, we get older!!!!!!
That's it. Nothing special. Time doesn't guarantee any additional wisdom. A lot of men go through mid-life crises around this age because they feel like doors are closing. They have the affair and buy the sports car because they are confusing youthful pleasures with pleasures of youth. And the real pleasure of youth is the open ended sense of opportunity, the ability to point your life in whichever direction you choose. But are those opportunities really gone? I can think of three separate careers that I'd probably enjoy more than my current choice except that I'd lose at least half my income and all or most of my benefits if I switched. So, the choices are still there, but there's a cost to making the change that never had to be considered from a youthful perspective. But it's still a choice. And there are plenty of other choices and paths to take that are not so drastic. I can keep my current career and explore other paths, other careers, more easily at age fifty than I could at age twenty.
So, as time passes, we make choices, take paths, and get older. Then we make more choices, take additional paths, and get older still. If we all focus on the choices and paths, does the age really matter?
