by Duncan Rinehart, Ph.D., NBC-HWC, ACSM-CPT
Well yes, quite a lot actually. “Too bad that youth is wasted on the young”, Mark Twain quipped; that the energy and ability of youth come with lack of lived experience needed to use it well. Though our youth-oriented culture does not value it, as we grow old, we accumulate a great deal of experience. And we often gain the judgement, perspective, strength, wisdom, patience, perseverance, and balance that come with having experienced the many mistakes, setbacks, losses, successes, accomplishments and gifts that life gives.
There is no substitute for it, for experience. “You don’t know what you don’t know” may be cliché, and a truism, but older people know a lot more than the young. It is hard-won knowledge from many years. Age brings value. It does. In many cultures elders are respected and revered for their experience.
Deeper benefits of growing old
I have blogged before about the benefits of aging (also here). But in this post I want to go deeper. As we get closer to the end of our lives, we have the opportunity, and for some the motivation, to use our remaining time to:
Heal relationships
Give and seek forgiveness for the wounds we have suffered or caused
Open ourselves to the joy and beauty around us
Cultivate deep inner peace
Open ourselves more fully into love
Experience deeper connection to others
Change behavior and thought patterns that we have been in since childhood, but which no longer serve us well
Grow our capacity for compassion and bring it into a world that badly needs more of it
Live more fully as our true authentic selves rather than through the roles and personas we have been using
Near the end of our life, fully grasp what we have done with that life
End our days being as fully conscious of our deep and shared humanity as we can so that as we take our last breaths, we can leave this life in deep loving peace.
The gift
These are some of what is good about growing old. The availability of time and experience and the motivation of facing our death help us see these opportunities.
Of course, many of these opportunities are available to the young. It is just that for many of us our younger decades were spent on building families, careers, legacies, and gaining the experiences that can lead us to these benefits of growing old.
In closing, let me note that not all seniors want to pursue these opportunities. And there is nothing wrong with not pursuing them. But the opportunities are there for those who seek them. What a gift!