Aging

I read a poet's blog today. He lists the signs of his aging. What a surprise to find this man is in his 40's. I thought surely...late 60s.

From my place on the planet, it seems to me that aging is a biological function rather that the reinforcement of habit in a vain attempt to control the chaos that is life. There is a comfort in predictable routine. Routine is our familiar that we don't even recognize as a familiar.. A poet may need that list of signs. A poet thinks about words and attaches them to experience with verbal musicality. Categorizing the signs of aging...perhaps a poem in the making....it (the list making) may help free up mental space for more creative pursuits.

Aging does not have to be rigid, sometimes it is filled with routines, sometimes not. Routines help fend off the warriors that come to roost in our anxiety closets. The old Old have much to teach us about real aging. Those who learn to live to with laughter learn to better survive the perils of real aging.

I will have to ponder this a bit. It is a process that I have born witness to for decades. I have no photos of the aged. I can not take them from work ~ it would be a terrible violation of privacy. Thank-you Poet, you've given me something to sift through ~ a personal challenge to my own assumptions