The Conceit of Age
Written somewhere in the sky between San Francisco and Seattle, 04.08.08.
First Love, First Kiss -- the most common examples bandied about when one wishes to trivialize the decision of youth and give credence and certainty to those decisions made in the current age. "I was young and stupid. It didn't really mean anything."
Adult wisdom maintains that our earliest experiences, though they may have shaped us into who we are now, are worth less than our current ones. We are Wiser now. We are Smarter. The choices we make are Better, the feelings we feel are Truer, because we benefit from our great depth and breadth of Experience. Today's choices matter. Yesterday, we were Wrong. Today, we are Right.
The conceit of age assumes that we change over time, processing and reacting to experiences differently as we age, and that intrinsically, as we get older, we get better.
Some things we will never live through more than once. We cannot repeat them to improve upon them. Two people can never do over the first time they meet. The first time two lovers kiss is memorable, immutable, and atemporal. Whether one is eight, eighteen, or eighty, that kiss loses no strength, immediacy, or importance. There is no context, no comparison possible, as the first time two fall in love is the First Time for those two, and whether both have ever been in love before is an entirely separate experience.
If love and kisses are too ephemeral to consider in regards to the weight of experience, let us discuss stones. If someone took two stones and threw them at your head, would it matter if you were eight, eighteen, or eighty? Your head would hurt the same, your head would bleed the same, you would cry out in pain the same. Would age impart any greater wisdom? Pain is pain, no matter the age or ego. We react no different to weighty experiences.
A child does not know how to hide his thoughts and feelings. A child acts and reacts honestly, earnestly. Age gives adults greater facility to lie to themselves and to others. A clever child can become a clever adult, though cleverness does not go hand in hand with maturity. Ignorance and stupidity are commonplace in adulthood. Ability is uncovered, not constructed.
Anyone who can discount their childhood love as trivial can discount their adulthood love with similar ease. People do change, and their choices may differ, but the Human Experience does not. Joy is Joy. Fear is Fear. Hate is Hate. If you hurt your head or your heart, you will hurt and react independent of age. The next time you consider discrediting your youth, stick your hand in an open flame and tell yourself, it doesn't really burn the same, now that you're older.
First Love, First Kiss -- the most common examples bandied about when one wishes to trivialize the decision of youth and give credence and certainty to those decisions made in the current age. "I was young and stupid. It didn't really mean anything."
Adult wisdom maintains that our earliest experiences, though they may have shaped us into who we are now, are worth less than our current ones. We are Wiser now. We are Smarter. The choices we make are Better, the feelings we feel are Truer, because we benefit from our great depth and breadth of Experience. Today's choices matter. Yesterday, we were Wrong. Today, we are Right.
The conceit of age assumes that we change over time, processing and reacting to experiences differently as we age, and that intrinsically, as we get older, we get better.
Some things we will never live through more than once. We cannot repeat them to improve upon them. Two people can never do over the first time they meet. The first time two lovers kiss is memorable, immutable, and atemporal. Whether one is eight, eighteen, or eighty, that kiss loses no strength, immediacy, or importance. There is no context, no comparison possible, as the first time two fall in love is the First Time for those two, and whether both have ever been in love before is an entirely separate experience.
If love and kisses are too ephemeral to consider in regards to the weight of experience, let us discuss stones. If someone took two stones and threw them at your head, would it matter if you were eight, eighteen, or eighty? Your head would hurt the same, your head would bleed the same, you would cry out in pain the same. Would age impart any greater wisdom? Pain is pain, no matter the age or ego. We react no different to weighty experiences.
A child does not know how to hide his thoughts and feelings. A child acts and reacts honestly, earnestly. Age gives adults greater facility to lie to themselves and to others. A clever child can become a clever adult, though cleverness does not go hand in hand with maturity. Ignorance and stupidity are commonplace in adulthood. Ability is uncovered, not constructed.
Anyone who can discount their childhood love as trivial can discount their adulthood love with similar ease. People do change, and their choices may differ, but the Human Experience does not. Joy is Joy. Fear is Fear. Hate is Hate. If you hurt your head or your heart, you will hurt and react independent of age. The next time you consider discrediting your youth, stick your hand in an open flame and tell yourself, it doesn't really burn the same, now that you're older.