I turned 36 yesterday. In past years, people would ask, "How does it feel to be a year older?" I'd always say, "No different. Age is just a number."
I'd be lying if I said that this year. I feel so very different from past years - emotionally and physically.
Three physical changes come to mind: 1. My joints ache very badly, I'm developing bunions, and I found my first strand of white hair. But in the end, I can take these physical ailments because I really am enjoying growing, which requires the passage of time, and therefore aging.
And this year has been extraordinarily emotional: I finished my second graduate degree, my husband sat for his national board certification examination (completing his certification coursework) and my daughter embarked on her education journey (although as we know, kids start learning from the minute they are born). At 36 I'm opening up a new chapter of a book unwritten and am completely excited!!
But most striking in my mind, each and every single day, is the constant question of what the hell is happening in this world. I've observed that most people I know become bolder in their opinions as they get older. My Memere, bless her heart, is a great example of one who wears her opinions on her sleeve and will exclaim such at any moment, to my horror, as the subject of said comment is often within earshot. My mother, also bless her heart, has always warned me to stop her from doing that... although the one or two times she's said something shocking, and I've exclaimed such shock, she's waved it away... much like her mother. (Sorry mom!!) But in the end, I prefer direct, honest interactions, rather than passive aggressive games and lies. I think that is why I love talking with people who have age on their side - those in their 70s, 80s and 90s are some of the people I love talking with most and who teach me so much. (A huge thank you to my mother: as an administrator of a nursing home, she would bring me to work - a true appreciation of older generations was borne there).
Such boldness, however, is very different from the complete candor I observe in politics. And I don't quite know what to do with it all. The new "wave" of politics is honesty, right? "Saying it like it is." And so, I don't have a problem with that. What truly baffles me, and what really breaks my heart, is that "like it is" is so mean-spirited. The "honest politics" of today portray very selfish messages. "Mine" "Not in My Backyard" "Distrust" "Fear."
My Uncle Guy's recent FB post explains my opinion perfectly,
"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
I will "sit at the table with my enemies," "turn the other cheek" "treat those as I would like to be treated" and "love others unconditionally." That is an outlook for ALL humans, regardless of national boundary. God made the world, God did not just make America. I am painstakingly aware of (and forever grateful for those who have died for) the freedoms, rights and privileges granted to me by virtue of the fact that I was born in this country, as a white female born into a suburban middle class. I am also painstakingly aware that millions of other less-fortunate people in this world could have been born into my place in life but were not - they live bound by the laws and rules of other countries, and/or are oppressed by the unequal treatment of those with mental, physical, racial, religious difference not "acceptable" by so many people of the world.
On aging. On perspective. On life. I will continue to hope for more because I know that there is so much about the world that is wonderful. If we broaden our perspective beyond the protection of our purse-strings and investments and benefits we might learn that the true gem in life is acceptance.
