When you are young,
You wonder what life is about;
When you are old,
You still do not know.
It’s only when you’re middle-aged
That you think you understand,
Because of tears you shed at funerals
And the trail of your footprints in the snow.
I've reached that stage where I tend not to look back at my footprints in the snow, it's usually disapointing and the Stoics tell us not to worry about the past or the future, just the present. Nice poem.
Thank you, Laura. It's certainly true that we never stop learning. It is important to remain curious as we get older.
Mmm. I am constantly looking back at my younger self, thinking how naive she was, how much she had to learn, but at each stage of life I truly believe I've reached a place of wisdom. Truth is, cliched as it may be, we never do stop learning, and that's actually a wonderful truth.
Many thanks, Graham and Keith. I found your remarks fascinating. I can certainly relate to things getting more difficult with age and to us becoming more emotional as we get older. I was thinking as well about the disappointment (in a way) of middle age. There was a time that I thought it was all begiining to make sense, but then I realised that I still knew very little. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing.
John - whatever you do, don't start now!
And thanks to Nigel, Frederick, K Lynn, Stephen and Hélène for liking.
Interesting take, Stephen. Fortunately I have never grown up.
A profound poem but I tend to regard Graham's view as how I see the three stages of life. The penultimate line I can relate to, as I believe that the older we get the more vulnerable and emotional we become.
Thank you for this
Keith
Interesting Stephen,
I've always seen life as a revolving stage. When you are young it doesn't revolve fast enough for you and as you age it gets more difficult to keep up with the spinning. I just try to hang on tight!
Thought provoking as always! Well done you.
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Stephen Gospage
Sun 5th Mar 2023 08:33
Thanks, Steve