As we age,
So much of our time is spent guarding against decline.
Health issues,
The lessening of strength and mobility and balance.
And on the horizon may well lie the fear of loneliness and death.
I say,
So much of our time.
But really it only seems that way.
Only now in the slowing down.
Perhaps leaving a career behind,
Passing into our late 60s and 70s.
Do we face the reality of our decline?
She's always been there.
But its prominence now,
Its newness,
Is what makes the concerns seem so large.
One of the great joys of aging,
However,
Is the gift of the space and time that we are allowed in our days.
I've come to see that the space and time I have now allows me a fuller awareness of the world in which I live.
Now I've come to be who I am.
Without the constant need to make myself anew,
To create myself for others,
To be on watch and on guard,
I can rest now in an awareness I never had before.
This is,
For me,
The greatest joy of aging.
I get to be just me,
Not a performative me who is calculating his effects on others,
Not a me who is creating a career or fretting over money,
Not a me defined by his doing,
But a me that simply lives and breathes in this world for the good of self and others.
It would not trade his awareness for all the health and vitality of youth.
If any of this sounds familiar,
I hope you'll join me in taking a deep breath and pausing now throughout the day to give thanks for the awareness that comes as a great joy of aging.
