\n<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t agree more with Moya\u00a0Sarner <\/em>(No, age isn\u2019t just a number \u2013 and the sooner we realise that, the happier we will be, 14 July). <\/em>One of the article\u2019s key messages is that time and tide wait for no man \u2013 a\u00a0phrase dating back to Chaucer in 1395, yet still resonant today. Sarner suggests that those who resist the natural passage of time often find less contentment than those who embrace life\u2019s stages with maturity and flexibility. It\u2019s a timely reminder that each chapter of life holds intrinsic value and that real growth isn\u2019t about clinging to youth but about evolving into deeper, more authentic versions of ourselves.<\/p>\n The phrase \u201cage is just a number\u201d might sound harmless enough, but as Sarner cautions, overreliance on such slogans can mean we miss out on the richness that comes with ageing and change. Resistance to emotional maturation and personal growth isn\u2019t just a gen Z or millennial problem \u2013 it spans all generations. As a trainee psychotherapist (and\u00a0undergoing personal therapy myself), I\u2019ve seen how powerful it is to root oneself in the present. The goal of psychotherapy isn\u2019t to discard the playfulness or idealism of youth but to integrate those qualities into a grounded adult self. No book, podcast or clever quote can shortcut the real work of growing up \u2013 emotionally, spiritually and psychologically.<\/p>\n The actor Carrie Fisher once said: \u201cYouth and beauty are not accomplishments.\u201d Yet in a culture fixated on self-curation, the celebration of youth and aesthetic perfection, that message often gets drowned out. Sarner\u2019s article is a welcome nudge back to reality and to responsibility. Perhaps, paradoxically, that is where\u00a0true\u00a0freedom lies. Quantum physics apparently tells us that all time is here at once. But time for us flesh-and-bone creatures is intimately experienced as a journey of growth and ageing. I turned 70 recently, and a friend brightly assured me that 70 is the new 40. But at 40 I was raising two children; at 70 my children are raising their own. The\u00a0maiden, the mother and the crone: at 70 I enclose them all, like rings in the tree.<\/p>\n As Tom Waits sang in Take It With Me: \u201cChildren are playing at the end of the day \/ Strangers are singing on our lawn \/ It\u2019s got to be more than flesh and bone \/ All that you\u2019ve loved is all you own.\u201d<\/p>\n The work of growing up takes a lifetime, though, as TS Eliot observed: \u201cThe moment of the rose and the moment of the yew tree \/ are\u00a0of equal duration.\u201d I will be 82 this year \u2013 I spent the first 39 years of my life in England. The second 39 years in California. I came back to England four years ago. I feel no different. Of course there are certain things I can no longer do \u2013 like run up a hill or drink three pints of beer in one go \u2013 but that\u2019s just physical stuff. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually and politically I feel the same as I\u00a0did 50 years ago.<\/p>\n In your article you write about \u201cthe devastating reality of the passing of time and the losses it brings\u201d. I would suggest that this is simply a circle of the tree you currently find yourself in. Savour your memories, enjoy the present \u2013 and look forward to the future, however long or short it is. Thank you for this insightful understanding of the thousand little losses one experiences as a mother when simultaneously celebrating the advent of independent adulthood for your child and equally mourning for, and aching with, the pain of missing those beautiful baby moments that defined life.<\/p>\n The term \u201cempty nest\u201d never quite encapsulates the full extent of the emotional depths, whereas her daughter\u2019s \u201cgooster\u201d becoming her scooter resonates. I still miss the \u201chuggy bugs\u201d who mysteriously and invisibly propelled my daughter (now 25) into the room for early morning cuddles, never to\u00a0reappear after the age of 11. Have an opinion on anything you\u2019ve read in the Guardian today? Please <\/em><\/strong>email<\/em><\/strong> us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our <\/em><\/strong>letters<\/em><\/strong> section.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I couldn\u2019t agree more with Moya\u00a0Sarner (No, age isn\u2019t just a number \u2013 and the sooner we realise that, the happier we will be, 14 July). One of the article\u2019s key messages is that time and tide wait for no man \u2013 a\u00a0phrase dating back to Chaucer in 1395, yet still resonant today. Sarner suggests<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[4753,4754,37,1403,1031,4752],"class_list":{"0":"post-11394","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-accepting","9":"tag-ageing","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-joy","12":"tag-mental","13":"tag-satisfaction"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Sinead Morris<\/strong>
Dunmurry, Belfast<\/em><\/p>\n
Cecilia Lenagh<\/strong>
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n
David Ashwell<\/strong>
Mawgan-in-Meneage, Cornwall<\/em><\/p>\n
Sheryl Crown<\/strong>
Wivenhoe, Essex<\/em><\/p>\n