Originally Posted by
climberguy
"getting old
Beats the alternative."
I, too, tend to think outside the box on this one. When I first heard this expression, lo those many years ago, I was foolish enough to think that the alterative was getting younger.
Now that I am wiser and more experienced, I still think that, with an explanation. I think it is possible to stay the same age or even get younger, measured by physiological and psychological factors such as strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, mental clarity, open-mindedness, the ability to enjoy each day, and so on. The calendar is only one measure of age, and not a very good one at that.
That last sentence is profoundly true. I've informed my family that I am no longer recognizing birthdays - I started to become too fixated on my age and the so-called "logical" conclusions that leads to. True, physical performance does decline but it is the trajectory that matters. In other matters - I've already been working full-time 11 years longer than my father and 8 years longer than my sister, but my work (and I hope yours) enriches my life, although it cuts into my riding time! Over the next few years I hope to forget how old I am; not because of senility but because my life is too full and active for it to matter.