Sep 29 2008
How Old Are You?
Age is just a number. You’ve heard that expression many times before. All of us fall somewhere along the continuum, most likely somewhere between 1 and 100. Unfortunately, we tend to pass judgement on people based on their age. A lot of that judgement is inaccurate. It’s not fair to determine that a person is immature because they are “only” 18. Likewise, it’s unfair to write off people in the later decades of life as being out of touch, senile, behind the times, or whatever.
Most of us, whether we actually practice this or not, understand that age, in and of itself, is not the thing that makes us “young” or “old”. We have all encountered teenagers wise beyond their years and 85 year olds who are as young at heart as any sixteen year old in love.
So, if we get past the numbers, what is it that makes people “old?” I’ll tell you what I think it is. The number one barometer for measuring non-chronological age is the complaint factor. Constant, chronic complaining can occur in the very young, the not so young and to definitely not at all young. And nothing, and I do mean nothing, screams out “I am a crabby old geezer” with more vim and vigor than a person who can find no joy in life and means to make sure everyone within audio range knows about it.
I guarantee you, there is plenty wrong with the world today. Just read the newspaper or watch the television. But, don’t ask me. I don’t want to be the town crier. And if you want to be the town crier, I don’t want to hear about it.
If you have a joy to share, drop an e-mail. We’d love to share it with you. In fact, maybe I’ll start a running list of joyful announcements. (If you need to air your gripes and dirty laundry, keep looking. Someone out there wants to hear it, I’m sure).
How old are you?
