“When I was in my thirties I walked around with a hard-on that was made of stone. I was strong. Now I am fifty years old and it is all gone. I am getting tired…I don’t want to do much. I want to work less and sit around more…”
I heard this from a very whiny voice this morning, a man complaining to a younger man, who I am sure could care less. It is moments like this that I would like to interrupt his scheduled broadcast and ask him if he would like some cheese with his life.
I never have understood the reason for whining and complaining about getting old. Every step we take on this earth was taken by someone who if lucky enough, grew old and died on the same path. It is the way life works. There is more I would like to say to him and other people of his ilk.
Life has never been a bowl of cherries and it won’t get easier. As babies we all did our share of crying out of frustrations we could not define. We cried because that is what we did and eventually someone would figure out how to make it right for us.
As toddlers we cried out of frustration and anger over not getting our way, also not being able to make our bodies do what we wanted them to do. We cried because we had to go to the bathroom. We cried because of what we had or did not have to play with or eat.
As children we cried over nothing more than not getting our way. We cried because our parents were mean, not there, or did not care. We cried because we were spanked, or had a fight with our best friend.
As teens we suffered acutely over all our imagined shortcomings. We felt out of place, alone, and isolated in many cases. We were the only person in the world who understood us and what we thought we were about.
As young adults we cried over broken hearts, and friends going their own way without us. We cried over marriage matters, money matters, children, in laws, parents and spouses. We cried over divorce, being broke, and not being bale to keep up with the Jones’.
As middle age adults we start crying over the death of family members who were a part of our lives for as long as we can remember. Suddenly they are no longer there and it hurts us. With the pain in our hearts is the pain of our bodies starting to grow old and change. We are so used to our body doing whatever we wanted it is now painful for us when we do not work the way we should. Most of us experience all or most of these things as we go through our lives.
A few self centered folks for whom no one exists in the world except themselves are usually the people like the man I overheard whining about the state of his body. It must be a terrible thing to wake up in your fifties and realize that you are a mere mortal just like all the people around you! The shock of knowing that the time when you are going to stop walking the earth is closer than the time you started walking the earth.
Now that these people have this knowledge, that they are indeed like everyone else, I would like to add one more thought.
“Welcome to the world at last. Your time is limited and you body will keep failing you. Do not waste your final years whining over what you can no longer do. Spend whatever time you have left doing those things you never took the time for.”
