The Sun Will Set
Our society is obsessed with many things. One of them is youth, or at least the appearance of it. Desiring to remain young or even return to an earlier age is nothing new, certainly. Stories of magical elixirs and fountains of youth have been around for ages. Yet this desire to reverse the effects of time has grown far beyond myths and legends and become a full time industry.
We have creams to fade age spots and hide wrinkles. We have dyes for our hairs to restore color where the color has left. There are thousands of products to make us look younger and feel younger, and when those fail we hire surgeons to forcefully remove what could no longer be hidden.
The first half of our journey we charge forward, arms outstretched, taking on life and whatever it brings with it. With vigor and enthusiasm, we race to the top of the mountain, ready to conquer. Once we are there, in our prime, it’s a glorious moment. Yet it’s not long before we look back and see the others climbing and are reminded that it won’t be long before we must walk down the other side.
But rather than enjoy the decent, the sunset warming our smiling faces, we act as if we are being drug down, against our will, clawing desperately at the ground. This is not the way of nature, or life. All things that grow in strength must decline to weakness.
Struggling against this decline is not only unnatural, but a pointless effort. Just as being young and virile is a part of growing up, so are the physical effects of aging part of growing old.
I’m not suggesting we are to give up and just decompose quietly. We should take care of ourselves: eat well, exercise well, sleep well. The time spent on being concerned with the appearance of age is time we could be spending enjoying the life we have.
No matter how much time we spend trying to deceive ourselves and others, we must grow old. The choice, however, is do we define ourselves by the life we have spent, or the life we have to spend?
The beauty of youth is not in the skin or the color of the hair. It is the passion for living. No amount of creams can provide this. The energy that drives us during our ascent does not have to be left at the mountain top. Continue the journey back down with the same enthusiasm.
Our bodies will age, accept it. Don’t struggle against it. Our passion for life…let that remain constant. If we do, we will always be filled with youth.
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