What I learned getting older

The learning during the process of growing old is that when you are young, the system does not conform to your dreams, it’s the shackles that need to be pushed, broken, challenged.  A new path is found, a new way, a new idea, a light that guides the way forward and that a majority will follow, just to find that sometime down the road the path becomes tortuous and painful, despite what the light promised. 

That light was an answer for a while but did not warn that was not the answer forever. The crisis starts, and then you start looking for answers elsewhere. And then you look back, because the light does not illuminate anywhere forward.

That’s when looking back you learn that it all happened before, that the crisis is just an event, a reflection of another one before, and another one before. You start seeing the patterns. What is happening now, happened before, in a different way, but in the same way. And the more you look back the more it makes sense.

Then you realize that all what you thought that was original is just an incarnation of previous ideas, just an evolution, and you start seeing what is next. And it is not as wild and bright as you thought before. You are now more cautious, more careful, because you know the patterns.

As time goes, you realize that as much as you want to look back and find the truths that others discovered before, and that you will not discover anything new. Then you may either disdain the future, as you cannot contribute to it, or feel the sudden pressure of pushing it because you are running out of time and want to see those promises come true. Sometimes you may realize it is too late, and if you are lucky you will understand that is never too late. You would have never had enough time anyway, so just do it now.

The earlier you find out about all this, the more time you will have and the more you will know.  In the meanwhile, try not to hurt yourself too much.