Age Is the Golden Treasure

Life has a funny way of showing you where you're at.

When you're young, you wonder about adulthood.

What will my life be like?

Where, and with whom, will I end up?

When you become an adult and have a family, your questions change.

Am I doing enough to make sure my children will be alright?

Where, and with whom, will they end up?

But there is nothing more daunting than becoming a senior.

It is the gradual betrayal of a body that no longer responds the way it once did.

It is a mind that repeats itself.

A brain searching for words that seem to slip away.

It is the loss of dignity that can come with losing control over basic bodily functions.

It is sagging skin.

The transformation of a body that once turned heads.

But it is also the culmination of a lifetime of experience.

It is knowing who you are.

It is making peace with what you can control and what you cannot.

It is understanding that death comes to all of us, and that it is alright.

It is knowing that one day you will no longer walk the earth, life will continue, and the world will carry on.

There is a saying in Spanish:

“Juventud, divino tesoro.”

Youth, divine treasure.

But I beg to differ.

Age is the golden treasure.

Youth gives us dreams.

Age gives us perspective.

Youth imagines what life might be.

Age understands what life is.

It teaches us what matters and what doesn't.

And while our bodies may fail us, age often grants something far more valuable:

The ability to accept life as it is and still find peace within it.