Age Is Not Just a Number

We’ve all heard the saying right? Age is just a number. It’s about how one views themselves. It’s about how we take care of ourselves. Ummmm, no it’s not. Recently there was a man in his 70s who was a very fit person, did video tapes about being fit most of his adult life and he died just like that. Years ago, another man in his 40’s had a massive heart attack while working out in the gym. He ate right, he was healthy in all the right ways. But we can’t escape mother nature and ultimately death no matter how fit we are or how wonderful we can make our thoughts. Morbid? Negative? Or just reality? Yes, we can curb a few years, maybe, if we take care of ourselves physically and mentally but we still can’t stop aging nor declining. Age is not just a number, it’s a cycle of life, from birth to death. Our bodies just simply wear out.

There is some scientific researching going on. One project has to do with the life of a certain clam. This clam can live to be over 500 years old and scientists are trying to figure out how this creature is able to do this. Will it be possible for humans to maybe take a pill or injection sometime in the future and extend their lives? Maybe. Did ancient people in the Bible really live up to 400, 500, 900 years old? I don’t know. But I do know that each day we spend on this planet, gravity and nature slowly take its effect. The last 5 years have been really life changing for myself. It’s like once I hit 50 all the aches and pains became loud and clear and front and center. I’m not able to bounce back like I once was. Now I’m not able to get out of the chair without being bent over or my feet hurting. It hurts to stoop down; it hurts to sit. I just hurt. I was never like that before. Age sucks. It’s not just a number, it’s a cruel reality and I’m not aging well. I played soccer into my 30’s and now getting close to 60 I just want to sit cozied up under a blanket and put my feet up. Now I know that there are extremely active people in the world in their 60’s, 70’s 80’s and even 90’s. But the truth of it is they are not active like they were in their teens, 20’s or 30’s because that’s just how nature works. Well, I’m here to say that it just sucks.

Life is like an hourglass. It’s full of sand, just as our lives are full of aspirations, dreams, enthusiasm and youthful vigor. Then the sand starts to methodically, slowly drain to the bottom half of the hourglass, one grain at a time as gravity begins its lifelong pull on our relative short lifespan of years. It may appear we have all the time in the world but as the sand moves through time, we begin to realize that in all actuality the grains move so fast from the top to the bottom. Soon we are left with just a small portion of sand left in the upper segment of the hourglass and time has slipped by. There isn’t much left. One may want to reach out and turn the hourglass over, but that’s just not possible in this thing called life. We are running out of time and age becomes more than just a number, it becomes the truth of existence. So, my friends, wherever you are in the age of the hourglass I encourage you to try and stay as healthy as possible, but more so to stay vigilant of who you are, what you are here for and the awareness of the journey. And please don’t waste that sand.