Grow Up Without Getting Old

Grow Up Without Getting Old

Babies are born every second. Soon they will learn to crawl, then walk, and finally talk. In a few years, you’ll see their parents or their babysitter running after them in the playground. In next to no time, they will go to school and learn their first ABCs and 123s. After that, they will have their first bunch of crushes followed by their first love, then comes their first heartache. They will finish their studies; will experience the difficulty of finding their first job; will accept any job offer (even if it’s petty) just for the sake of money; will resign and get another job, and another one; will marry and have children; will have series of problems; will have gray hair and experience their “second childhood”; and so on and forth…until they die.

That is the transition of life for many people. For most of us, growing up is okay. We grow in height and our body develops—we see no problem with that.

But growing old…we just hate it. We hate it as our age increase (accompanied by myriad of problems) that many of us deny how old we are—either by verbally lying or by concealing age marks through the magic of cosmetics and dermatology. Have you heard a 20-year old friend denying his age by saying “I’m not getting old; I’m just twenteen! So, I am still considered as a teenager!” Or have you seen a 50-year old woman wearing a thick make-up like a Japanese doll and who had her tenth liposuction done? There are actually many of them, and they are everywhere—they may be your neighbor, schoolmate, or one of the many passers-by roaming the streets. They are those who equate “increase of age” to “growing old”.

For those whose understanding is too shallow, “increase of age” and “growing old” mean the same—when age goes higher, we grow older. But for those who have enough wisdom, these two things may be apart from each other. Their philosophy is this: We can grow up without growing old. How is this possible?

Positive thinkers say that growing old is just a matter of how we view life. It is a “mind over matter” case. Thus if you don’t mind, “growing old” doesn’t matter. This goes to say that growing old is optional. We have a choice whether to dwell on the yearly increase of our age or to live and enjoy life as it is, with all its twists and turns.

The main secret on how to grow up without growing old is this: Be child-like. Take note: it is different from being childish. But that’s another story.

So, here’s the catch on how to grow up without growing old—

Live, laugh, and love like a child. Cherish each moment and bear in mind that it is not the years of our life that counts, but the life in our years.