Change and Aging
The law of entropy says that the universe is in a state of constant change, with energy (heat) dissipating away from hot areas and toward cooler ones. One type of change, and most definitely the major type of change in our lives, is aging. Everyone seems to want to know how to stop the aging process, but so far nobody knows (despite what all the ads directed at my browsers & inbox say).
Some say you can stop aging by taking up yoga, eating like an herbivorous bird, and giving up alcohol/caffeine/sugar/salt. Others say no, the secret is enjoying the good things in life. Unfortunately everyone who says anything other than the truth, that all things grow older until they die, is lying.
But the question I have is, if we know that growing older and dying is universal, why do we loathe it so much, and why are we so desperate to stop the process or even just slow it infinitesimally? The answer has something to do with self-image and expectations. We form self-images when we are quite young, sometime in elementary school. Since we are growing and changing so quickly at that point, and our conception of time is that it crawls like a snail, we either don’t notice or don’t mind that our self-images have to adjust almost constantly.
In adulthood, we arrive at a more or less set self-image. The changes happening in our bodies are usually not very apparent between the ages of 20 and 50. So we trick ourselves into thinking this is the self that could and should always be, and we develop expectations that nothing will change, in contradiction of one of the most basic laws of the universe. And when we start to visually experience some of the symptoms of change (wrinkles, sagging, gray hair, love handles, etc.) we are disappointed and depressed because our expectations have not been met. What foolishness to think we are somehow immune from the basic laws that govern the stars, the moon, the mountains, and literally everything!
The solution to all this is much easier said than done. Expect change, and change will not disappoint you. Accept aging, and aging should not depress you.
Here endeth the lesson on change and aging.
Bike Newbie 