‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very
often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from
those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very
matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension.
Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of
man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only
four. But, whichever version one looks at, there is an
understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do
list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the
individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the
next.
It would seem that past a particular age group
getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability
to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up
because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and
shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a
particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two
as separate then there is a problem.
Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold
of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful
daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic,
responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly. The future
looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.
For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests
less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of
earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a
better term, have a good time.
Though one would like to come across as
experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of
the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’,
there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a
billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not
remain, young. This façade gives people an option of
straddling two very disparate worlds.
We try to look younger, behave younger and find
opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived
happiness from in our younger days. Evolution is a
natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This
phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and
psychological. So, the idea that the manner in which we attain
happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over
time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress
as individuals but the advance of society.
Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of
finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we
encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind
when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he
swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when
mothers
look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do
youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new
young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an
even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?
‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept
what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young
disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all
level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second
grade mathematics? The need to remain and even act young is
something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to
his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are
comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that
we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer
to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost
opportunities of our youth.
The fact remains that we could be boring at any
age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes
that with age one becomes boring. Why should we choose not to
build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why
should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we
find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and
boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.
Published in Free Press Journal
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400
Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
‘Old
and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the
old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The
manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a
tinge of palpable apprehension. 
- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.xNqxWRJC.dpuf
Old and boring…
— By | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am
SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old
and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the
old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The
manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a
tinge of palpable apprehension.
Shakespeare
has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it
simpler and deigned them to be only four. But, whichever version one
looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the
table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society
recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares
the individual for the next.
It
would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become
profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a
time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years
meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self.
When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable
to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those
who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate
ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult
with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned
and elderly. The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known,
sure looks rosy. For many, after a point, age is no longer just a
number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of
health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to,
for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though
one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is
now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak
of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan
Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to
look, if not remain, young. This façade gives people an option of
straddling two very disparate worlds.
We
try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in
our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our
younger days. Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the
surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but
cultural, social and psychological. So, the idea that the manner in
which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain
unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores
our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even
as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain
young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that
is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub
screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do
children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s
become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the
presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’
passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as
old?
‘Old
and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings –
maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even
disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer
choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics? The need to
remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day
at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We,
the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there.
Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no
one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the
lost opportunities of our youth.
The
fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a
lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes
boring. Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience
and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull
when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will
realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only
maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
Old and boring…
— By | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am
SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old
and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the
old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The
manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a
tinge of palpable apprehension.
Shakespeare
has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it
simpler and deigned them to be only four. But, whichever version one
looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the
table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society
recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares
the individual for the next.
It
would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become
profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a
time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years
meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self.
When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable
to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those
who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate
ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult
with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned
and elderly. The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known,
sure looks rosy. For many, after a point, age is no longer just a
number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of
health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to,
for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though
one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is
now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak
of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan
Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to
look, if not remain, young. This façade gives people an option of
straddling two very disparate worlds.
We
try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in
our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our
younger days. Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the
surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but
cultural, social and psychological. So, the idea that the manner in
which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain
unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores
our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even
as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain
young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that
is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub
screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do
children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s
become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the
presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’
passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as
old?
‘Old
and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings –
maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even
disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer
choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics? The need to
remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day
at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We,
the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there.
Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no
one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the
lost opportunities of our youth.
The
fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a
lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes
boring. Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience
and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull
when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will
realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only
maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
Old and boring…
— By | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am
SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old
and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the
old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The
manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a
tinge of palpable apprehension.
Shakespeare
has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it
simpler and deigned them to be only four. But, whichever version one
looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the
table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society
recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares
the individual for the next.
It
would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become
profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a
time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years
meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self.
When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable
to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those
who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate
ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult
with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned
and elderly. The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known,
sure looks rosy. For many, after a point, age is no longer just a
number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of
health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to,
for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though
one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is
now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak
of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan
Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to
look, if not remain, young. This façade gives people an option of
straddling two very disparate worlds.
We
try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in
our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our
younger days. Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the
surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but
cultural, social and psychological. So, the idea that the manner in
which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain
unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores
our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even
as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain
young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that
is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub
screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do
children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s
become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the
presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’
passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as
old?
‘Old
and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings –
maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even
disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer
choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics? The need to
remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day
at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We,
the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there.
Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no
one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the
lost opportunities of our youth.
The
fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a
lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes
boring. Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience
and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull
when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will
realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only
maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
Old and boring…
— By | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am
SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old
and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the
old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The
manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a
tinge of palpable apprehension.
Shakespeare
has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it
simpler and deigned them to be only four. But, whichever version one
looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the
table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society
recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares
the individual for the next.
It
would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become
profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a
time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years
meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self.
When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable
to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those
who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate
ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult
with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned
and elderly. The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known,
sure looks rosy. For many, after a point, age is no longer just a
number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of
health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to,
for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though
one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is
now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak
of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan
Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to
look, if not remain, young. This façade gives people an option of
straddling two very disparate worlds.
We
try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in
our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our
younger days. Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the
surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but
cultural, social and psychological. So, the idea that the manner in
which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain
unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores
our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even
as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain
young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that
is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub
screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do
children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s
become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the
presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’
passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as
old?
‘Old
and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings –
maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even
disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer
choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics? The need to
remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day
at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We,
the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there.
Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no
one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the
lost opportunities of our youth.
The
fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a
lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes
boring. Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience
and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull
when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will
realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only
maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
Old and boring…
— By | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am
SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old
and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the
old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The
manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a
tinge of palpable apprehension.
Shakespeare
has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it
simpler and deigned them to be only four. But, whichever version one
looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the
table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society
recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares
the individual for the next.
It
would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become
profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a
time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years
meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self.
When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable
to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those
who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate
ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult
with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned
and elderly. The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known,
sure looks rosy. For many, after a point, age is no longer just a
number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of
health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to,
for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though
one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is
now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak
of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan
Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to
look, if not remain, young. This façade gives people an option of
straddling two very disparate worlds.
We
try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in
our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our
younger days. Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the
surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but
cultural, social and psychological. So, the idea that the manner in
which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain
unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores
our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even
as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain
young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that
is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub
screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do
children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s
become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the
presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’
passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as
old?
‘Old
and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings –
maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even
disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer
choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics? The need to
remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day
at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We,
the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there.
Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no
one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the
lost opportunities of our youth.
The
fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a
lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes
boring. Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience
and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull
when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will
realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only
maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
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