Growing Old Is Optional.

We all hear it. We complain about the aches and pains of old age. We are told by Doctors that aging is inevitable, and that everyone dies. The philosophers tell us to "Memento Mori". I recite the mantra every day. The point of these discussions is to help us to realize that we need to enjoy and live in the present, no matter what is hurting, or what is happening. Of course, that is easier said than done, isn't it? But, I like to tell myself that growing old is optional. That is because my body may decline; but, my attitude doesn't have to. As long as the mind works, I can be young forever. I get to choose. So, today I will choose to revel in the fact that I am above ground, and breathing, and walking, and eating my favorite food. So what if I get fatter? I will always have today. Until I don't.

He grew old

faster than he had been young.

When morning came,

it took so long to roll his legs

off the edge of the bed,

that he couldn’t always remember

when he had been young.

He was living slowly,

and aging fast.

He watched the bodies of his enemies,

floating down the river;

but, it was the bodies of his friends

and lovers

that he didn’t want to see.

He never closed his eyes,

without wondering whether they would open again.

He knew that he would die,

sooner rather than later.

Would the pain linger,

or would he go out in a flash of fireworks

lighting up the sky?

His friends were mere reflections

of the people they really were,

and he looked into the mirror,

wondering whether they too saw

a reflected image

of him,

two dimensional and flat.

After a time,

the secrets that we hide from others

become more visible to ourselves.

Do we die sooner

if we look at them?

After coffee,

he realized that he had another gift to open.

He had no time to waste,

wondering what had or might have been.

He didn’t have time to waste,

worrying about those no longer with him.

He didn’t have time to worry

about the lives that others led.

He only had time

to live another day.

He only had time

to love another day.

He only had time

to eat another day.

He only had time

to be young again,

for one more day.