Aging

Mary Ann

When I was in 9^th grade, we read Shakespeare’s As You Like It.  We had to recite the famous speech, All the World’s A Stage, in front of the class.  It was a piece that took an individual through the various stages of life comparing it to a play.  For the most part, I didn’t get it.  If you hadn’t lived a particular stage, you couldn’t identify with it.  And what in the world did sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything mean? 

Well, as one ages, the various stages begin to make sense, and now, that I am in the final stage of the speech, I know what sans, French for without, means and indeed it is true. I always thought that there should be a T-shirt that says, “Aging is Not for Sissies.”  You must be tough to grow old.  There is a challenge around every corner, a surprise just awaiting you.

Aging is full of aches and pains.  You discover body parts you didn’t know existed.  You develop health conditions like hypertension, cholesterol, or diabetes. Your body does not want to do what your head tells it to do.  You can’t open the peanut butter jar.  It is hard to go up the steps or getting out of a chair.  You can’t see as well as when you were young.  You can’t hear either, so you say what a lot. You forget names, and words just sit on the tip of your tongue. There are lots of thingmajigs or whatchacallits in your vocabulary now.  You have many senior moments.  The list could go on and on, and it keeps growing with the passing years.  Mark Nepo has said, “The terrain of aging is steeper the longer we go.”  Amen!  

As challenging as aging is, there are many good things that can only be acquired with growing older.  There are lessons to be learned with the passage of time.  With aging you gain wisdom and experience.  Life is always teaching you a lesson.  You gain understanding and patience from those lessons.  You grow to appreciate stillness and the peace that it brings.  You begin to understand that taking the time to smell the roses is what life is all about.  You embrace the life you have and live acceptance.  You discover your inner light and let it shine.

We know that change is inevitable.  It is one thing that you can count on.  Yet, it is still hard to embrace as you grow older. The changing is getting us ready for the final journey whatever it will be.  Again, I quote poet Mark Nepo whose beautiful words explains the coming adventure.  “It’s as if my body is a nest and my soul is a bird who has waited a lifetime for the moment it can fly away.”  Aging prepares us for that final flight.

I wrote this essay for the journaling group that I recently joined.  The topic was aging, and I based some of it on the work of Mark Nepo.  He is a poet and spiritual writer who I just discovered.  His prose is lyrical and so deep that you pause after many of his sentences to ponder the wisdom that Nepo imparts.  His most recent work is The Fifth Season, Creativity in the Second Half of Life.  Nepo is now in his seventies, and this book echoes his many years of a reflective life.  My friend Lisa and I read the book as part of our nonfiction book club.  After the first section, we decided to do a slow read of this book.  Each section has four or five chapters that each end with a journal prompt and a discussion question about the reading.  This was a great jumping off point for Lisa and me to discuss the reading. We decided to read one section a week and then take a second week to reflect on what we read.  That is how rich the readings were.  I took notes throughout the various sections, and we reviewed our thoughts when we finished the book.  I don’t believe I have ever put that much energy into reading a book.  However, it was worth every minute.  Since both Nepo and I are in our fifth season, I could recognize myself throughout the book.  We are all traveling on the same path but in our own unique way.  I am thankful I got to join him on his. 

Lisa and I would highly recommend this book, but it is not a quick read even though the book is only 200 pages.   You need to take your time and digest Nepo’s beautiful words.  It is nourishment for the soul. It is a book to return to again and again gaining insights into one’s inner life.  I am also reading Nepo’s bestselling book, The Book of Awakening, that is a year’s worth of daily readings.  He wrote it 20 years ago, and it is still very relevant.  Many people read it year after year.  I think I will too.  Each day is ended with mediations to reflect upon the wise words Nepo shares.  If you would like to hear more about Mark Nepo and his books listen to Mel Robbins’ Podcast from November 16, 2025 – The Exact Words You Need to Hear Today If It Feels like Nothing’s Working.  Mel is a big fan of Mark.  I hope that you will join his fan club along with me!