When life is changing
I'm struggling with my age
My friend, you look in the mirror or at the calendar and feel that time has slipped past you. Maybe you promised yourself something by a certain age and it didn't happen. Maybe your body no longer answers as it used to. Ages are not deadlines. People fall in love at sixty, learn a trade at fifty, start painting at seventy. Each age has its own gifts, which you can't receive while you keep looking back. What you have lived is not a delay. It is the material you build your present years from.
Questions for you
Whose deadlines do I think I've missed?
A possible answerMany come from comparisons, from family, from what people say is normal. Ask whether that deadline was ever truly yours.
What do I know now that I didn't know at twenty?
A possible answerWhom to listen to, what isn't worth the effort, how to get through hard times. That wisdom doesn't show in the mirror, but it shows in your choices.
What would I like to do in the next ten years?
A possible answerNot what you should have done, but what you want. Ten years is a long time. You can learn a language, build a deep friendship, change a path.
How can I care for my body without scolding it?
A possible answerMovement you enjoy, sleep, good food, check-ups on time. An ageing body is not an enemy. It is the friend that has carried you this far.
Tonight's practice
Write three things you do better now than ten years ago. Then write one new thing you want to learn this year.
A thought to keep
“The years are not a delay. They are the wood for your fire.”
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