Age Is Not Just a Number

“Come on, age is just a number!”

The age discussion, it happened again. Quite inevitable around one’s birthday.?

We say these things to be nice. Small talk, platitudes. We often say the words without thinking about their deeper meaning. So I took a moment to reflect. Here's what I think.

The chronological age is a number. The biological age is another number that could be measured (I haven’t yet). Depending on your lifestyle and health factors, it could be lower or higher than the first number.?

I’ve got my (new) number, 51. But it does not stop there. That number means experience.

Emotional, professional, physical, sexual, spiritual, financial, creative experience. It means life lived, adventures and moments of numbing boredom. Successes and failures. Love stories and breakups. Injuries and recoveries. Thousands and thousands of miles traveled. Countries, cities, apartments lived in, languages learned. Some dreams realized, others broken. Lessons gratefully learned and others that I would have preferred not to learn.?

Most importantly, that number means growth. If we say that age is just a number, we disregard growth.?

“You haven’t changed a bit!”

Of course I have, everybody does. Our faces and bodies change, so do our brains. All living organisms change, that’s inevitable.?

Sometimes I look at old photos and feel strange, as if they were from another person’s life. Almost everything has changed. Whether the changes are positive or negative, that’s a difficult question. Not black and white.???

Let’s imagine… What if I were twenty again??

I’m much stronger now, both mentally and physically. I’m clear on what I want and what I don’t, and understand my strengths and limitations. I’ve lost the insecurities and the endless searching that are typical of a young woman.?My skin was more smooth and radiant but I’ve now got more muscle mass and strength than ever before.

Oh, but the twenty-year-old had the whole world wide open, everything was new and exciting! Undoubtedly there are things that I can no longer do and feel. But it works the other way around, too. At this stage of my life, I can do many things that were previously unavailable, especially those requiring experience and financial muscle.?

So no, even with that skin, I would not like to be twenty again.?

“You’re only as old as you feel!”

This saying implies that being old is negative. That getting older automatically means being less healthy, energetic, attractive, less able to learn and have fun. I've used that line several times myself, but now realize that I disagree.?

Why? Because I'm discovering a rising level of curiosity with age, curiosity about the world, people, business, culture, exercise, everything. I’m hungrier than ever before to learn. To learn what I find fascinating and useful, not what I’m told to learn or to get a certain grade. Our ideas of attractiveness and fun also change with age, it's not that we're by default not enjoying ourselves any less!

Ultimately, what getting older means to me is growing wiser. My dream is to grow old and wise. Maybe one day, in the far away future, I’ll read this text with an amused and slightly nostalgic smile:

“See how young and inexperienced I was back in 2022! But absolutely spot-on on one thing: age is a lot more than just a number.”?

My warmest thanks for reading. Take care,?

Anita

You can also find me at [email protected] and www.palazzoflorio.com.