My grandpa was an amazing man, and he taught me many things when I was a boy. One day when I was about 9 or 10 I was feeling restless, looking for something to do. So my grandpa says, “wanna go out to the shop and build something?” I said “like what?”
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So he says, “lets build a radio.” And you know, that’s exactly what we did. It’s funny the things you remember. In fact, when I was in my late twenties, he taught me a deeply insightful lesson about human nature that I will never forget. Before I tell you what that was, let me give you some background.
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He worked in movies
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No, he wasn’t a movie star, he was a cameraman at Paramount Studios way back when. He knew all these famous actors and actresses. On occasion, I got to go with him and watch him work on the movie sets. How cool was that?
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After he retired, my grandparents moved to Oregon and that’s where my fascination with the forests of the Pacific Northwest began. We would spend our vacations visiting them and exploring the beautiful countryside.
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Time flies and so did I
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Well, I grew up and moved to Oregon. I settled in a place about four hours from where my grandparents lived. It was nice to be able to drive up and visit them several times a year. It was during one of those visits that he opened my eyes to something I had never realized.
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I was about 30 years old at the time, and I had begun to notice something for the very first time. One day we were just sitting there talking, and I explained to him what I had been experiencing.
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Here’s the deal
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I explained that, even though I had learned and experienced a lot since I was 18, on one level I really didn’t feel any different. I thought of myself in basically the same way, and yet 18 year olds were starting to call me mister, or even sir on occasion (boy have things changed).
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He listened intently as I expressed my amazement over the difference between the way I related to myself, and the way others were beginning to see me. I remember telling him that I still felt like an 18 year old, but with more experience.
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Then he laid it on me
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He looked me right in the eyes and said, “how do you think it feels to be trapped inside of this?” Wow, what an ah ha moment that was. He was in his late 70’s with a body that was falling apart, and yet, inside he still felt like an 18 year old with lots of experience. He was a young man trapped inside an old man’s body.
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I don’t know what I thought it was like to be old, but I definitely didn’t expect that. This conversation caused me to look at life from a whole new perspective. I began to imagine what it must be like to personally relate to yourself as a young person while trying to reconcile the reflection in the mirror.
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More time flies and I’m beginning to understand
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That conversation took place almost three decades ago. As you may have guessed, I still relate to myself as a very experienced 18 year old. The difference is that my mind is starting to write checks that my body can’t cash. I’m still in great shape, but trust me, it’s not the same.
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So, what can we do with this insight? How can we benefit from knowing that we may someday echo my grandfather’s words when he said: “How do you think it feels to be trapped inside of this”?
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The value of being forewarned
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We can clearly see that our strengths at 18 are different than our strengths later in life. At 18 we have (hopefully anyway) boundless physical energy, but very limited experience. Also, our age is more of a chronological issue than one of physical conditioning. Both of these situations will reverse later in life.
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Eventually, physical energy will take a back seat to experience, knowledge, and wisdom. As we grow older, our physical age will be determined more by our level of health and fitness, than the number of years we have been alive. We may relate to ourselves as the same person, but these changes are inevitable.
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Take action now and enjoy the ride
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When your physical energy begins to wane, you want to have enough mental energy to take its place. The experience, knowledge and wisdom you acquire over the course of your life will lay the foundation for this transition. It’s vital that you continue to learn about the deeper and more meaningful things of life. Never stop learning!
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It’s also vital that you never ignore your health. Eventually, your quality of life will depend on it. I know healthy people in their 70’s and 80’s who still feel very much alive. I also know unhealthy people in their 40’s and 50’s who feel terrible. Good health is the key to being able to fully enjoy everything else, especially in later years.
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See them for who they really are!
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This insight should also have an influence on how we view those who are older than we are. They are just like us but with more experience and knowledge. They can’t relate to the aged reflection in the mirror any better than we could. Those lines on their faces are just a road map of their travels and exploits.
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Youth fades, but youthfulness can last a lifetime if you make it a habit to drink in all the goodness that life has to offer. The best way to plan for the future is to live each day with full appreciation, build up your knowledge and wisdom at every opportunity, and always take care of your health. We’re in this thing for the long haul, we should act like it.
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Have some aging insights you’d like to share?
Have you benefited from the wisdom of someone older?
The lines are open!
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