Age

 

Some say with age, comes wisdom.

Fine wines and liquors are aged in wooden barrels, improving the flavor. Bitters, coffee, maple syrup, sugar, vinegar, Kampuchea, fish sauce, duck, fish, squab, beef leg are all preferred aged.

Aged also means advanced age, wrinkles, maturity and mellowness. Aged may also mean elderly, old, senor, gray, waned, worn, anile, antiquated, antique, dated and feeble.

Aged is not for the faint of heart.

Aged muscles don’t respond as fast, breathing is stifled, energy is diminished and life slows down. All those veins and capillaries have been working hard for years. The sturdy structure is becoming brittle and stiff. Simple procedures become chores. Print on labels has become smaller.

The carriage of so many years has become worn. Used, worn, drained, weak, attrition and dilapidation describes aged. What was the new shiny latest model has now become an antique.

At a certain point the time has come to be out-of-date. Last year’s model is without an upgrade.

So as the body goes rusty the mind hopefully shines with a new appreciation of wonder.

Youth gives energy and drive and determination focused on the narrow dream often never realized. One passes through time missing so much.

Age allows the body to rest and the mind remember.

With age there is time to find the meaning of what this journey has been all about. The people who are remembered and those who are forgotten are simply names. The places that meant so much are cherished, not for the locations, but for the effort of getting there.  

Age is a time to look back at accomplishments and failures. Age is your history.

Enjoy it while you have it.