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A friend posted about how people say that they feel young, but that we should feel proud of our age, because of all the wisdom we've gained. We have selective memory, sometimes, remembering all the good times from the good old days, while forgetting to observe how far we've come.
Just to point out...
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But I think a big factor is what we perceive as "old." We tend to forget how old we actually are. We don't realize that we're the same age as those whom we thought were old when we were young. When I was a kid, my grandparents were obviously old. But at the time they were, what, sixty? Part of the problem is time dilation, like where we tend to think of the 1970's as thirty years ago, and not the 90's. We forget how much time has gone by, and this time itself qualifies us as being a certain age. I see people whom I think are older than me, and then realize that they are not!
I feel young! we say, while noticing our grey hair, and complaining about our health ailments, and complaining that we're having more trouble handling technology. When we stop to think about it, we realize the reason we don't feel old is because we don't act old - we don't act like the old people did, back in the day. But here's the thing - they weren't acting old, they were acting the way that people of their generations acted! And now we're acting the way people of our generation act. And the younger ones are seeing us as old.
Just to point out...
But I think a big factor is what we perceive as "old." We tend to forget how old we actually are. We don't realize that we're the same age as those whom we thought were old when we were young. When I was a kid, my grandparents were obviously old. But at the time they were, what, sixty? Part of the problem is time dilation, like where we tend to think of the 1970's as thirty years ago, and not the 90's. We forget how much time has gone by, and this time itself qualifies us as being a certain age. I see people whom I think are older than me, and then realize that they are not!
I feel young! we say, while noticing our grey hair, and complaining about our health ailments, and complaining that we're having more trouble handling technology. When we stop to think about it, we realize the reason we don't feel old is because we don't act old - we don't act like the old people did, back in the day. But here's the thing - they weren't acting old, they were acting the way that people of their generations acted! And now we're acting the way people of our generation act. And the younger ones are seeing us as old.
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Date: 2023-02-18 10:35 pm (UTC)From:When I was young there was a huge amount of unknown life in front of me. Now there's most of it laid out and fixed, and it's behind me. That makes me feel my age.
But the 1970s, they seem like a lifetime ago!
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Date: 2023-02-19 07:25 pm (UTC)From:I feel that the big change in me is that I've learned a lot, and have become more competent and wise. I don't feel my age for what has gone by, I think, but for how little time is left to exercise what I've learned (and learn more).