The Old Man With a Dog
“You know that old man with a dog? He spoke to me the other day, I was pleasantly surprised by what an interesting conversation it turned out to be.” said the husband, sounding impressed.
I nodded, adding, “I read an article that hit this problem on the head: It is the fact that we truly become invisible as we age.”
I hastened to explain as we leaped past the nightly sprinklers that had started up. The horologist’s gleaming success – timed sprinklers. Anyway. “Our achievements, our agility, or even our experiences fade to the background. You become that old man with a dog. He could have been a scientist in a space program, or a high-ranking official in some administrative service, a doctor, or a professor/teacher. But none of that matters – a true lesson in time and humility and all of that.”
The husband looked thoughful, and I waited.
“Yes – I always only had the time for a hello, and a how-are-you. Never really stopped to talk to him.”
On the way from somewhere to something
I nodded. We all do the same. On the way from somewhere to something.
From there, our conversation went on to how we may, in our times, in our awesome ways, not fall into the same traps.
Except that we will.
We already do.
“Old age is always fifteen years older than I am.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes
We may even be hastening and accelerating towards it just like we accelerated and hastened towards everything in life. It is why we feel the sting when we don’t understand the emoji-lingo anymore. It is why we feel bewildered, and scramble to understand when a new career path we’ve never heard of before, comes up for discussions by the younger ones in our lives.
Gerascophobia is real.
Aging brings with it frailty.
Failing health means a fall from the bed after an afternoon nap, or the unexpected reaction to a medication. Somehow, life manages to strip everything away from us. Degrees, achievements, resumes – everything whittles down to blood pressure and blood sugar readings.
“It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone.”
– Andy Rooney
So, how may we stay relevant?
A few people in my parent’s generation still retain the spark. They work towards spreading cheer, being loved and loving, and retaining their intellectual curiosity in ways that means they have defied age in a way. They are the ones who still bring a smile to our faces when we think of them. It seems like a simple thing to do, but it isn’t.
Maybe that is the change in life’s purpose. Learning to cultivate joy in the small moments, so we may remember to be happy when invisibility hits, when loneliness hits, or when health fails.
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” – Sophia Loren
Humans of New York kind of initiatives show us the stories behind everyone.
P.S: The article ( I truly wish I had saved the link, but I didn’t. So, if someone knows the article I am referring to, please let me know, and I shall link it here. ) was a well-written one that had me nodding in several places.
Read Also: Toby Turtle’s Lessons on Life – Nourish-n-Cherish
Nourish-n-Cherish 