Old: A 4 Letter Word?
Yes, I can count. I know that old has only 3 letters. I am responding to my wife who is questioning my first grade math skills.
But in the world of aging, the word “old” is treated like a 4 letter word. Nobody wants to say it out loud, and heaven forbid, nobody wants to be called…old.
According to Dr Benjamin Bergan, cognitive scientist and author of the book What the F, “swear words, often 4 letter words, are taboo language, often reflecting descriptions of people who are not accepted in society”.
Well, there you have it. My response-F#%@ that.
You know what else is a 4 letter word-life! Yeh, if you don’t accept a little bit of old, you don’t get a long one. Let’s talk about life, in relation to old. I promise not to swear, unless someone pisses me off.
We grew up with a life of ”I can’t wait(isms):
I can’t wait to got to school. I can’t wait to graduate.
I can’t wait to drive. I can’t wait to not have to drive (in the Michigan winter).
I can’t wait to start working. I can’t wait to retire.
I can’t wait to have kids. I can’t wait for the kids to leave (did I just write that?)
I think you get the idea. We were always living for what’s next. I can’t wait.
Great news. My friends , we have arrived. We don’t have to wait any longer. We can live for today.
There is a conversation (chapter) in my book called “If Not Now When”. It starts with the time honored phrase “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today. My friends , we have some tree planting to do.
May I suggest another way to look at life for us now.
We should make the most of this time on our aging journey (our life).
This will look different for all of us, and that’s fine. My brother posted on FB that his friend was going skydiving to celebrate his 80th bday. No. Thank. You. Not on my bucket list, but great for him. I actually don’t have a bucket list. I am afraid I would kick it some day by doing something like jumping out of a plane.
So yes-our “make the most of” will look different. But here is a thought. Live with intention. And intention has two important components for success:
Attitude: I want to do this. I want to make the most of my my life.
Action: Take action that moves you forward. Jump out of the plane if that is your thing. Show me the video when you land. But whatever your thing is, now is the time.
I would like to close with a little wisdom and motivation from Oliver Burkeman, author of the best selling book Four Thousands Weeks. He reminds us:
”We have 4000 weeks in the average human life (77 years). That is 4000 Friday nights, 4000 busy Saturdays, and 4000 Monday mornings to wake up and start the week. “ We are on the clock and our time has a limit.
We should make the most of this time on our aging journey.
Let’s enjoy the 4 letter words “life, and…old.”
Enjoy your day,
Just a little extra-
Back to the word “old” for a minute. It’s the noun we have an issue with. By adding an “er” and changing it to an adjective we are all good. I am older is just fine. Important note. This does not work with the other 4 letter words.
References
McGarrity, Laura. December 21, 2017. What the F: What swearing reveals about ourselves. Semantic Scholar
Adams, Tim. August 16, 2021. Four Thousand Weeks: Time and How to Use It. The Guardian