If You Can’t Stop Time, Enjoy It!

Whenever the end of the year comes, we hear people grumble, “I’m going to get another year older.” Everybody wants to live long, but doesn’t want to get old. It is not a pleasant thing to get old, because getting old means losing physical strength and having less time to live.

As 365 days—the time takes for the earth to revolve around the sun once—pass, we become a year older and our bodies get older. We are just riding on the earth that revolves like a spinning top, but our bodies get older, which is something interesting in a way. There are many theories on the cause of aging. The Wear and Tear Theory of Aging proposes that some of the cells in the body wear and tear as time goes by and cell division eventually stops. The Gene Regulation Theory of Aging proposes that the process of aging is programmed in human DNA, and the Neurohormonal Hypothesis explains that the secretion of certain hormones in the body decreases and it weakens the body functions. However, the accurate reason hasn’t been discovered yet.

When people are young, they think their youth will last forever. It feels like aging has nothing to do with them. They can’t empathize with older people who say their teeth are not strong enough to chew meat, or their stomachs are too weak for something spicy or salty, or their joints hurt when it’s cloudy. However, time flows ceaselessly and we all age. This is our destiny that we cannot avoid.

How will we accept aging?

There was a TV show where some people traveled into the future and lived in a virtual world for one day. They were shocked to see themselves with an old age makeup. Deep wrinkles, age spots, gray hair . . . They knew they would age like that some day, but it didn’t seem easy for them to accept it.

An employment website asked 1,251 people in their 20s or older. “When do you feel you are getting old?” The answers ranked second to fifth were “When I don’t understand neologisms” (40%), “When I miss being a middle or a high school student” (28.6%), “When I need a moment to remember my age” (21%), “When I look in the mirror” (20.3%), and the answer ranked first was “When I still feel tired no matter how much rest I take” (51.4%).

When people get old, their outward appearance changes and they are not as strong as they used to be. Many people take medicine or undergo surgery to avoid getting old. Some people are excessively obsessed with their physical appearance and youth. This phenomenon is called Dorian Gray Syndrome, which has originated from the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the story of Dorian who envies the portrait of himself that never ages and leads himself down a self-destruction path.

Experts say that we need to change the concept of old people in order to get old healthily in the era of centenarians. By this, they mean that we need to accept aging not as a heavy burden but as an important gift of life, which we must actively cultivate.

A young, fresh face is yours, but a face with traces of time is also yours. The fresh green leaves in summer look great, but the fall leaves colored in red have their own beauty. Who between the two do you think is healthier and happier, the person who does not even laugh or smile for fear of getting wrinkles around the eyes or the person who laughs to his heart’s content, saying to himself: “Wrinkles are a natural part of aging. So, I’ll laugh as much as possible.”, There is a saying that goes: “If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.” if you can’t stop time, enjoy it.

People with dreams don’t age

A PhD who lived a successful life and retired proudly at the age of 65 shed tears of regret at his 95th birthday, 30 years after his retirement. It’s because he spent those 30 years meaninglessly thinking, ‘I’ve lived life to the fullest. The rest of my life is a bonus.’ Those 30 years after retirement were one third of his 95-year life. He regretted it bitterly and decided to study a foreign language so that he won’t have any regrets on his 105th birthday in 10 years.

According to the lifetime age standards set by the United Nations, 18 to 65-year olds are classified as “youth,” 66 to 79-year olds as “middle-aged,” and 80 to 99-year-olds as “elderly/senior.” This means that even though you retire at the age of 65, you still have a long way to go until you reach old age. Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychotherapist, said that (people who are excessively aware of their age tend to underestimate themselves and have a sense of inferiority. Being confident enough to say, “What’s wrong with my age?” is much better than feeling despair, ‘What am I going to do at my age?’

There is a saying that goes: “Age is just a number.” Indeed, there are some people who have radiated as much enthusiasm as young people. Kim Myeong-jun successfully climbed the Seven Summits at the age of 63; Harland Sanders started his business of Kentucky Fried Chicken when he was over 60 years old and hit the jackpot; Ronald Reagan was elected president at the age of 69; John Milton wrote Paradise Lost—one of the greatest epic poems—at the age of 59, even when he couldn’t see; and Warren Buffett is the still-active investing legend at age 93.

Some say that you grow old when you lose your dreams. This doesn’t mean that you can completely ignore your age because age-appropriate dressing and behavior may be frowned upon. However, there is no such thing as being too old to pursue your dreams. Paul, known as the greatest of the apostles, said, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” while pursuing our dreams toward heaven. Today is the youngest day of the rest of our life. Today comes every day. Let us follow our dreams today.

Becoming mature with aging

As people get older, it seems that there are many things they lose, but there are also many good things. These are not just the things they say jokingly, such as “I can get more social security benefits,” “I feel less shy,” or, “I’m not forced to get insurance.”

One of the good things about getting older is that you have peace of mind and get more years of experience. Although your eyesight gets worse, your mind’s eye becomes brighter and clearer. People who easily got impatient or angry or discouraged even for small matters when they were young come to hear often that they have become more patient and generous as they get older. It is also said that older people think positively even in difficult situations and handle them with fortitude.

There is an African proverb that says, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground,” and there is also a Chinese proverb that goes, “An old horse knows the way.” These proverbs mean that an old person’s experience and wisdom acquired all throughout his or her life are so precious. Just as instant food can never have a deep, rich taste of a fermented food that has been preserved for a long time, an old person’s wisdom and experience are incomparable with a young person’s.

However, it doesn’t mean that you automatically gains wisdom and experiences as you get older. What if you just want to be served by the people around you because you are older than them or insist on your own opinions, only considering your experiences? You will end up being too small-minded to get along with them. When you treat others with tolerance and consideration and always reflect upon yourself, having a leaning attitude, you will be able to broaden your view of the world and become a virtuous person who can communicate with different generations, too.

Confucius said, “At 40, I had no delusions; at 50, I knew the mandate of Heaven; at 60, my ear was attuned; at 70, I followed my heart’s desire without overstepping the boundaries of right.” Just as grains and fruits become ripe while withstanding strong winds and scorching heat, those who fill their inner selves while being refined through the storms of life in the world become mature rather than getting old.

People say that time travels at a speed of 10 km/h in their teens, at 30 km/h in their 30s, and at 50 km/h in their 50s. Some say that it is just like when you drink a glass of juice; the less you have left, the faster it feels like you run out of it. Others say that as we grow older, one year is a smaller and smaller fraction of our total life; one year is only one-fiftieth of the lifetime of a 50-year-old person, while it is one-seventh of the lifetime of a seven-year-old child.

Life is just like a dream. Aging is something that no one can avoid. What matters how we age. As long as we are living and breathing, we must not waste any time meaninglessly. There is no bonus time given beyond our lifetime. It depends solely on you whether you will wither away while complaining about getting old or you will become more mature day by day.