Age is relative
Growing older can be really intimidating, but in the same breath it is inevitable.
Whether you’re entering your early teens, or late 40s
Growing up overwhelms people of all ages. There comes a time in life, when birthdays go from being a mark of increased maturity, to a reminder of burdening responsibilities. For instance, just a couple of years ago, I couldn’t wait to grow up. I thought that the older I get the more freedom and maturity I’ll gain. As for my most recent birthday, my feelings were quite the contrary. This time around my birthday signified the additional responsibility and maturity that I’d have to possess.
Time is a funny thing, days seem to drag on but years go by in a mere snap of our fingers. The more thought we put into growing older, the scarier and tougher it seems. Eventually you start living your present only with concerns of your future and the more you dwell over it the more you’re gonna fear getting older.
Growing up is a privilege
I think we spend so much of our energy on being intimidated by age that we forget the new beginnings that come with it. Each year of my life so far has been different, with varied experiences and fresh mistakes. If we start thinking of life as scrap book, it seems that each year we turn over a new leaf which is waiting to be filled with new memories. Growing older also gives us a chance to be fallible, which may I add is according to me a privilege. Fallibilities are what allow us to make fresh starts, and learn more about ourselves. I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t once been 10 or 12 and those years of my life contribute to how I choose to live today.
What do you choose to see?
Whether we like it or not growing up is an integral part of our lives, and if we learn to incorporate its inevitability into our mindset then perhaps it could be seen as something to cherish rather than fear. There’s a quote by Matt haig that says;
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see”
I find it applicable to most complexities of life, age being one of these. I think making the best of each year is really hard to follow through, but to adopt that mindset will really help us cope with growing older. More-so it’s important to find ways to acknowledge and adapt to the inevitable rather than dwelling over it. By doing so we give ourselves the chance to explore perspectives that enhance our lives.
Conclusion
I wish that I’d be able to conclude this article by excusing people from growing older, but unfortunately so, that I can’t do. Although if there’s one take away from this article it should be to look at time differently and begin to see it as a privilege rather than be intimidated by it.
So sometimes it’s worth it to sail off of that edge of fear and explore the crevices and valleys that come bring with age experience and memories. The white canvas, the fresh palette and an artist who has learnt from the past is bound to get better with time.
Comments