One of the great adventures that everyone experiences over time is “the disconnect” between your mind and your physical condition: unless, of course, you truly hate yourself — some do, and perhaps should. Given that this is not your lot, you will comment to yourself on the aging of your compatriots on FB, for example; this is, however, not how you see yourself in the world. You consider yourself youthful, vivacious and still not bad looking. This is especially true if you work with young people: you regress in age to a point that you can truly feel their need, fears and concerns. You are pulled to remember your own experiences at sixteen or seventeen years old: they weren’t pretty were they? I recall this headlong thrust into maturity: “Grow up and become a man!” This is equally true for young women: “Become alluring and attractive.”
As an aside: One of the more disturbing trends I see at present is the pallor of misogyny that is descending over our music and advertising industries. Women are, once again, being objectified to sell songs and to sell products. I offer two examples for your reflection. The one is the song “Work from Home” by Fifth Dimension: Fifth Harmony – Work from Home ft. Ty Dolla $ign and the other is advertising selling jeans: Google “jeans advertising with young women.” There are many, many examples of this type of marketing. Now, I am not a prude, nor I am I naïve: sex sells. A realistic comment! Marketing anything to a mature mind is “fair game,” as we say. Exposing young, developing intellects to images that are confusing and sexually suggestive somehow seems unfair: few people, for example, have the bodies that are touted as constituting the epitome of femininity or masculinity. The market may be twenty-five-year-olds, but children far, far younger are viewing them and developing personal body images associated with them. Why, when governments are so concerned with terrorism, should this not be considered some form of “assault” on the state of our youth? If the system will not protect our most treasured progeny, then it is up to us as leaders, teachers and educators to take up the mantle. We must promote critical thinking skills. A simple analysis of our herd-motivated advertising will show the initiated just how ridiculous the vast corpus of marketing and promotion actually is. You could be forgiven for thinking that our school system is nothing but a plot to keep us “stupid” so that we will be willing consumers once we finish university. To reinforce this, we are given the archetypical modern man or woman: beautiful and yet vacuous. Aldus Huxley’s (1894-1963) Brave New World is being modeled. (1)
To return to the aspect of time: people always say when you are young that “age is a concept in your mind.” This is easily dismissed as nonsensical. It is only with the passage of time that you come to realize the power of this statement. It is a truism (2) that could be as equally applied to poverty, loneliness, etc. There is always a reason, an excuse, for your station in life (barring bad luck or madness). Time has no meaning unless we give it meaning. Yes the body will age, yes ailments may come to you, and yes you won’t be as strong as you were at twenty. In spite of this, you will have other unseen advantages. You will be wise beyond your years, you will gain experience and, most importantly, you will be patient. I am always inspired by the story of a Volvo that continued to be driven even after 1,000,000 kilometers. (3) How is this possible? The answer is good maintenance. The philosopher and intellectual Dr. Deepak Chopra (b. 1947) leaves us with a thought: We are not victims of aging, sickness and death. These are part of scenery, not the seer, who is immune to any form of change. This seer is the spirit, the expression of eternal being.
A small joke: Children love pets, especially young animals. One day a mother was on a bus with her young son. In a box near the driver was a cute puppy. The boy began to play with it. “Where are you taking the dog?” the woman inquired. “I am taking it to the dog pound.” The chauffeur replied, “What will happen to him?” The lady asked. “If no one wants him, he will be destroyed in three days,” the man replied. “Please Mommy, can we keep him?” the boy implored. The mother having a kind heart agreed to take the dog home for her young son. Later in the day, she rode the same bus. There was the same scenario: the box and a puppy. “Why is there another puppy here? The woman asked incredulously. “The mother had six puppies: there are only two left.” The man smugly replied.
This week, please ask yourself, “How can we destroy the concept of aging as a disease?”
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: The anger that we feel at being alive must be translated into effective and altruistic action. There is little time for self pity at our own mortality: there should be joy that action is always within our grasp until we leave this mortal plane.
Footnotes:
1) A truism is a word or statement that is evidently true.