by David Payne

Created on: July 14, 2010

It is something that for the first thirty years of your life you never think about.  Believing that you are indestructible and that youth will last forever. You tell yourself that you have decades to worry about such things. But time waits for no one and suddenly you are at that point where  everything needs consideration, things seem more risky  and setting up a pension is a very prudent thought.

The aging process is a silent stalker laying in wait for us all. Some succumb fairly young while others evade capture till much later in life. It gets us all in the end though. It can start with a the odd grey hair that turns you year on year into a silver fox. Where once we drunk like vikings with little consequence, turns into a lost day or two of recovery time. You hear yourself making noises as you get in and out of bed, a sound nights sleep replaced with a solitary visit to the toilet. And where jumping from any height under three foot presents a chance of ligament damage.

And it is not just the physical aspects that change over time. Your mental state alters at the same time. Driving with reckless abandon is replaced with cruising at a safe and respectable distance from the car in front. Stopping yourself drinking that last beer as you know what awaits you the next day. Your arms become shorter and your pockets deeper  thinking about next week , next year and the foreseeable future. Your no longer tight , you are frugal. Shopping seems so much interesting and you start visiting garden centers. Museums and architecture start to make sense. And the history channel brings you relief from reality television.

It all sounds kind of gloomy to anyone that has not entered this stage of life. But there is a silver cloud to the aging process that no amount of youth can replace. And that is experience and self knowledge. You make so many mistakes when you are young and waste so much time. As you get older you get more efficient at getting the best out of the time available. Certainly far more than when you were young. Wrinkles may appear but your eyes start to truly open. You see the true beauty of the world around you, things that are natural and things that man made long ago. Understanding that from past we can learn for the future. You lose that blinkered state of mind that all young adults possess. You take in your surroundings in its entirety. As you age you become more settled with yourself. Self doubt gives way to a more self assured inner belief of who you are.

A sense of urgency within this calm emerges also. Not the headless chicken approach that you once had, but that time is precious and you have a finite time on this earth. It is no coincidence that many achieve far more in the second half of their lives than the first. You know who you are, what you like and what you want.

The energy of youth is bested by guile.

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