I have found as I have aged and gotten older that the words
appealing to me about life have shifted.
As a teenager growing up I was focused on words inspiring my passing and
heart, things like strength and power and courage. To not give up the fight. To overcome my obstacles. To be built on struggle.
It’s commonly held that people slow down with age,
especially those who are involved in youth culture. The music that appeals to youth, especially adolescent boys,
is filled with aggression, screaming lyrics appealing and giving voice to that
deep angst and anger fostered in white suburbia. It takes energy and commitment and a huge passion for
throwing body and mind onstage each night in front of whoever happens to be
watching.
Not only youth focused culture but Americans in general
focus frantically on youth and being able to hold on the vestige of
rebelliousness and stupidity and energy entwined in the early days of life. We lose sight of the beauty and earnest
joy in acceptance and in the gentle softness that comes as we all get older and
begin to lose our tension.
Certain phrases hold appeal in truth and in the ability to
age intentionally. To admire the
seams in a weathered face of a wise man.
For your face to crease in a smile. To be pillowed
in the kindness and warmth of one you love. These are words to calm and soothe. Language so different from the terms of
death and decline used with impunity in discussion on the subject.
Aging intentionally is to embrace these changes and move
slowly toward a softer strength, to move from tawny skin and smoothly bunching
muscles to fragile hands and slow walks.
Though we focus on the aches and pains, we lose sight of a solid sense
of self and easy confidence that comes with age, if we’re lucky.
So, in the end, to trade vigor for calm, strength for
acceptance, that inevitable choice, is all a matter of the words we choose.
