Photo by Pablo Hermoso
Twinkle Khanna
The good part about getting older is you stop trying to prove anything to anyone, including yourself. All you are in the pursuit of is collecting experiences – beautiful, fragile little soap bubbles that you store in your heart, and every once in a while you pull one out and gaze at the delicate pictures it shows you.
“When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple”
I bought this book for my Mom when she was older. I do not remember her exact age at the time, but it was fitting. She was aging, had some health issues, and appeared frail. She had lived her life, like most of us with good and bad experiences.
I remember going to a gathering, she and I. There were many people there we did not know and many were drawn to my Mom. She was this little old lady who appeared frail but wasn’t really. Her body was frail, becoming frailer, but not her mind. Oh no, not my Mom. She had a sharp mind and a good wit.
People kept coming up to her, some just to introduce themselves and have a little conversation. Others were checking to ask if she wanted something more to eat or drink. I was wandering, but was always aware of her and mostly would sit close to her. She looked over at me and winked. She told me it was nice being an old lady because everyone was always doing something for her. That evening she was enjoying her status.
My Mom, in a somewhat sedate way, deserved a warning sign. She was her own woman and had earned her right to do just about anything she wanted to. She would sometimes offer her opinions that may have been a little shocking or quickly tell you if she didn’t like something or someone. She was always willing to go somewhere with friends. She loved her job because she could see and talk to so many people. She fought to keep that job and would have continued until a medical mishap kept her from doing so.
Friday I posted, Through The Eyes Of A Child, which is about being more childlike and never losing the openness a child has, and always being curious and willing to try new things. Children are so special because they have not lost the ability to learn as much as their little bodies, and their curious minds can soak in.
This post is the other end of the spectrum about having lived life to the best of their ability, without that childlike approach and coming to the time when they let loose of their inhibitions. The inhibitions that the majority of us, unfortunately, acquire early in life. Like I mentioned in my other post about children, when you start to do something and the hand of a parent reaches out and holds you back. That is where inhibitions are born and when our childlike exuberance starts to die.
The thing is, and what I am trying to say is, we for so many reasons need to live more freely with the openness of a child and the audacity of an older person. There should be more of that and less of all the inhibitions in the middle.
Children, and an older person who has so many life experiences, have fearlessness. There are so many ways of saying it, they are brave and they are bold. They want, the child because they have not experienced, and the old because they have.
I am becoming that older person who dares to shock people. It is going to be fun and I am so looking forward to it.
Old people get away with a lot and I think they have earned the right. We are all waiting for the day when we get old enough to do whatever we want.
Here are some of the things that older people get away with doing.
- They can pretty much say whatever they want and get away with it, and I think they enjoy shocking people. Watch them say something outrageous. They will smile and wink. So funny!
- Talk about experiences they had long ago that they would not dare tell anyone about when it happened so long ago. Who cares? They don’t. What is anyone going to say? Go to your room. You’re grounded, and have no phone privileges. That’s not happening.
- They can wear mismatched socks, colors that don’t match, eat whatever they want when they want. Who is going to stop them?
- Take a nap anytime and pretty much anywhere. Sleep late and go to bed anytime they want.
- Pretend their hearing is terrible, so they don’t have to answer questions they don’t want to answer and listen in on conversation people don’t want them to hear.
- Say what they are thinking and be blunt if they want to. There is no need to lie or pretend that something isn’t important to them when it is. Just say it.
- Eat whatever they want, when they want to eat it. I really like ice cream so maybe someday I will just eat that, just ice cream. Yummy!
- If they don’t want to do something, they will tell you they forgot. Nobody will question an older person. Of course they forgot!
Maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised when I am old. I am old. I guess I need to get started. The truth is, I do not feel old and there is so much to do. It’s exciting!
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an afterthought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be Kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.
Richard Gere
As always, thank you for reading my blog. Have some fun today!
Adjusting My Time Frame 