Thoughts on ageing

[Mups]

I love these words.
I found them a long time ago,  can't remember where,  and I still enjoy them. 


* *


As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.  I've become my own friend.

I've seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon;  before they understood the great freedom that comes with ageing.
Who's business is it if I choose to read, or play on the computer until 4 am,  or sleep until noon?
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's and 70's, and if I, at the same time, if wish to weep over a lost love,  I will.

I will walk  on the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive in the waves with abandon if I choose, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.
They too,  will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful,  but there again, some of life is just as well forgotten,  and I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car?
But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning grey, and to have my youthful laughs forever etched into the deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older it is easier to be positive.  You care less about what others think.  I don't question myself any more.  I have even earned the right to be wrong.

So to answer your question,  I like being old.  It has set me free.  I like the person I have become.
I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be . . .  and I shall eat dessert every single day if I feel like it.

*  *  *