Age is a funny thing.

Pearl Harbor · Post by **Pearl Harbor** » Mon Sep 13, 2004 3:13 pm

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old

is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so

excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?"

"I'm 4 and half."

You're never 36 and a half, but you're 4 and a half going on 5! That's

the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You

jump to the next number.

"How old are you?"

"I'm gonna be 16."

You could be 12, but you're gonna be 16. And then the greatest day of

your life happens: you become 21. Even the words sounds like a

ceremony-you BECOME 21. YES!!!!

But then you TURN 30. Ooohhh, what happened here?? Makes you sound

like bad milk. He TURNED. We had to throw him out. There's no fun now.

What's wrong?? What changed???

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40...stay over there,

it's all slipping away...

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, you're PUSHING 40, you REACH 50...my

dreams are gone...

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, you're PUSHING 40, you REACH 50 and then

you MAKE IT to 60...Whew! I didn't think I'd make it.

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, You're PUSHING 40, you REACH 50, you MAKE

IT to 60, and by then you've built up so much speed, you HIT 70!

After that, it's a day by day thing. You HIT Wednesday, you get into

your 80s, you HIT lunch. I mean my grandmother won't even buy green

bananas, "Well it's an investment, you know, and maybe a bad one."

And it doesn't end there...Into the 90's, you start going backwards:

I was JUST 92. Then a strange thing happens, if you make it over 100,

you become a little kid again: I'm 100 and a half!!

Age is a funny thing.

Thanks to Bigbazza(Barry)..Oz

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Paula · Post by **Paula** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 6:52 pm

No it isn't, and your poem isn't either, so what you are saying? What matters is that i made it this far & yes my kids have exhausted me, my pocket book & my nerves, but you know what thats Okay, now I know what my parents went through, not as much as i did, my kids will take care of me if needed, they look up to me and tell us when we piss them off...

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:35 pm

Good one Pearl Harbor and sooo true!

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:14 pm

Pearl Harbor wrote: Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? .....Then a strange thing happens, if you make it over 100, you become a little kid again: Age is a funny thing.

A very interesting message. But life is not really so mechanical. We enjoy it at every stage of age-cycle. When we look at older people we want to become older so that we can enjoy like them. On the other side when we look at younger people we think about those times when we were young and how we used to enjoy. Age is really a funny thing but a good teacher.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:20 pm

Paula wrote: No it isn't, and your poem isn't either, so what you are saying? What matters is that i made it this far & yes my kids have exhausted me, my pocket book & my nerves, but you know what thats Okay, now I know what my parents went through, not as much as i did, my kids will take care of me if needed, they look up to me and tell us when we piss them off...

Oh no Paula, age is a good teacher. It teaches us to have a positive attitude towards life and other people. It is also a reminder that how much life we have wasted and what should be done to make our remaining life productive and enjoyable.

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:02 pm

I know that, i also know what i am doing, life itself is a good teacher.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:47 am

Melancholia wrote: As you get older, the years not only seem to go by faster, they actually do get shorter with respect to your age. For example, at five years of age, one year is a fifth of your life. At thirty, 1/30. At fifty, 1/50, and so on.

Oh well.

I think it is how you perceive getting older. If you are involved in good productive work you feel still young irrespective of your age.

capt_buzzard · Post by **capt_buzzard** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:42 am

When I reached the old age of 41. I done a Jack Benny on all, I said that was 39. :wah: :wah:

A Karenina · Post by **A Karenina** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:30 am

I'm PUSHING 40 (in 4 more months...that makes me 39 and 3/4) and I thought this was hilarious. Thanks!

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:48 am

KlatunIckto wrote: :wah: Amazing I never thought that people gained a better or more positive outlook on life in their senior years,in factit has been my experience in doing volunteer work with seniors that they are most pissed at the world.

Very true. They also act like the world owes them something. I know I'll be old someday, but I hope I don't act like some of the senior citizens I've had to deal with.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 10:59 pm

KlatunIckto wrote: :wah: Amazing I never thought that people gained a better or more positive outlook on life in their senior years,in fact it has been my experience in doing volunteer work with seniors that they are most pissed at the world.

There are all sorts of people in the world.

Tombstone · Post by **Tombstone** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 11:27 am

I don't know the author, but it is something I think about daily and make a concerted effort to practice.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire.

The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion.

Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. _This_ leaf has jagged edges. _This_ rock looks loose. From _this_ place the snow is less visible, even though closer.

These are the things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 9:19 pm

Peg wrote: ....... I hope I don't act like some of the senior citizens I've had to deal with.

Yes, that should be the attitude.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 9:23 pm

Tombstone wrote: ........... To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow.

It is a nice thought. To worry only for future is not the fulfillment of life. One should also enjoy the present. Did I read you correctly?

koan · Post by **koan** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 8:10 pm

The journey is more important than the destination. In fact, why have a destination at all?

My grandmother had a stint in the hospital at 82 and there was an elderly woman next to her that was the most miserable cuss I've ever heard. With a rasping voice and harsh words...our eyes bulged after 10 minutes of listening to her. My grandmother who had to lie there all day said, quite admirably, "She's 103. She's earned the right to bitch!"

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:49 am

koan wrote: The journey is more important than the destination. In fact, why have a destination at all?.........

One can't think of journey without first thinking of destination. No doubt, proper planning of journey is very important to reach the destination.

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 9:50 am

Suresh Gupta wrote: One can't think of journey without first thinking of destination. No doubt, proper planning of journey is very important to reach the destination.

But some can journey without a destination. It is just a different temperment or personality trait. If you've ever done personality testing, or even aura testing, it is quite amazing to see the difference between people's approach to life.

Some people take the exact same route to work every day and are very upset if road work causes a detour. Some people, who personally drive me crazy, refuse to take the same route twice or ever look at a road map. Let's just find the place by driving around for five hours! But, to their credit, they see a lot of interesting things that me, with my road map, would never have seen. Even though they may never arrive at the destination, they just might learn more than I did in their travels.

I think youth wants to make their own map.

Middle age is thinking maybe their is some value to the road map after all.

Elderly figure they know all the short cuts and don't need the map anymore.

For some more generalizations anyway.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 8:56 pm

koan wrote: But some can journey without a destination. It is just a different temperment or personality trait. If you've ever done personality testing, or even aura testing, it is quite amazing to see the difference between people's approach to life.

You mean reaching somewhere through default and then term it destination. It happens. Some people shoot first and then go and put a circle around the point they had hit. Then there are people who will put a circle first and then plan to hit at its center. They may, they may not. But they have made efforts. And this is life.

Some people take the exact same route to work every day and are very upset if road work causes a detour. Some people, who personally drive me crazy, refuse to take the same route twice or ever look at a road map. Let's just find the place by driving around for five hours! But, to their credit, they see a lot of interesting things that me, with my road map, would never have seen. Even though they may never arrive at the destination, they just might learn more than I did in their travels.

No two people have similar approach to life. There is always some difference. People, whether they arrive at the destination or not, learn from the experience. But what they do with that learning is important. In management terms it is called planning, monitoring, review and action. You can call it 'journey spiral'.

I think youth wants to make their own map.

Middle age is thinking maybe their is some value to the road map after all.

Elderly figure they know all the short cuts and don't need the map anymore.

For some more generalizations anyway.

Everybody is free to have a roadmap or not have a roadmap. But I still maintain that without first thinking about destination one can't think of journey. One should not lead life by default.

An interesting analysis though. Congrats.

Tombstone · Post by **Tombstone** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 3:49 pm

Suresh Gupta wrote: It is a nice thought. To worry only for future is not the fulfillment of life. One should also enjoy the present. Did I read you correctly?

Perfectly!