Denial of the Season

“To everything, turn, turn, turn
There is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep.”

The Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn!

__________

“Without realizing it, I had routinely been opting for what I have come to think of as “youth implants.” This new old-age credo was everywhere I looked. If someone even casually mentioned that she was getting on in years, she was immediately chastened: “You’re not old. You’re still in your prime!” She was informed that “Seventy is the new fifty.” She was admonished not to “give in” to old age. This creed urges people my age to keep setting new goals, to charge ahead into new ventures, to design new programs for self-improvement. We are advised that medicine and its promise of an extended life span have given us an unprecedented opportunity: we can spin out the prime of our lives indefinitely. And if we surrender to old age, we are fools or, worse, cowards.”

Daniel Klein, Travels With Epictetus

__________

A recent announcement: 57 year old Mike Tyson will fight a 27 year old boxer.

Tyson, a former champion, is old enough to be his opponent’s dad.

It made me reflect on the seasons of life.

Do we need to be in indefinite competition with the world?

Or is it better to define for ourselves when we need to compete and when it is time to step back.

A time for everything.

If the time has passed to compete, we can transition to teach.

Teaching is sharing.

Competing is trying to take away from another.

To strive indefinitely is to deny reality.

Wisdom requires self knowledge and acceptance.

At what age is it appropriate to check our ego at the door?

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