THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROWING OLDER AND GROWING UP!

I initially decided to write this blog purely because I enjoy writting, and usually have a belief about most topics. Yes, I grew up with the ‘hippy’ ideology that we should all be able to live in peace and harmony with the planet and each other. Yes, I still wear rose-clouded glasses that I refuse to remove for anyone. On the odd occasion I do allow them to slide slightly down the bridge of my nose…not to far as the ‘real’ world terrifies the bejesus out of me. Today’s blog will thankfully be short because I do have something to say from the heart that does not require data to be included.

The past few blogs have been a mammoth task as I had to research the information that was included, however today will simply be personal observations. I have spent the past 20 odd years raising my children to adulthood with the main message being that they need to grow up, gain an education that would enable them to get a job, maybe travel, get hitched and have a child or two. After all this is what life is about – right? NO, wrong, so very wrong.

Stephen Covey maintained that “you should leave this world a better place than when you got here”. To achieve this you need to be happy, not just smiling but truly happy. To achieve this end you should do the things that make you jubilant. Many of my kid’s friends are marvellously creative. Some create whole worlds of people complete with personalities, lives, families and discourses, to share with like-minded and talented youth. Some take remarkable photos of the everyday to create the enthralling. While others write tales of magic and fantasy that rivals anything that you buy at the local bookstore. As a society we have taught them that these are not worthwhile pursuits, and they are uncomfortable to admit to their miraculous gifts.

I love the internet, the world really is at your fingertips, but sadly my generation opt to play mindless games, pay their bills and shop online. We opened our Facebook accounts to check that our kids were not into anything that could be deemed harmful. We do not go anywhere near the really interesting sites; we do not see the astoundingly clever and creative concepts our youth put together and share with each other. Our youth are aware of so many current issues that most of the Adults in the room have no idea about. The youth HAVE got it and it is us who have become apathetic to the world and its possibilities.

This week courtesy of one of these sites I have learned of an 87 Year Old College Student Named Rose who share with the Uni students this wonderful summary of life ~

“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humour every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change.  Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”  (Many thanks to michiamocristina from tumblr for sharing this).

Rose is right and so are many of our children; despite our best efforts to crush this seemingly intuitive knowledge from them. Remember to live your life without regret, if your friends are constantly trying to change you or worse belittling every idea you have, then it is time to change friends. It is your life and you need to live it how you want to. Have no regrets! Find the positive in life and lose the negative. Mimic the behaviour of our youth and pursue those creative outlets.  And in closing I will leave you with this lovely Irish Proverb to ponder. 

Dance as if no-one were watching,

Sing as if no-one were listening,

Love as if you’ve never been hurt,

 Live every day as if it were your last!