The flesh-and-blood vessels that we occupy are more fragile

~ Live & Learn

At 58, I reflect often on the differences between youth and age. One of the biggest is the margin for error. You have a big, broad one when you’re young, and that applies not just to muscles and midriffs but also to relationships, jobs and more.

You can be sloppy, and the wages are modest. You can be heedless and recover. You can squander an opportunity and still find another (and maybe even another) and make the most of it, having learned from your mistakes. You have time. You have flexibility. Everything is more elastic — your knees, your calves, your skin, your heart.

Don’t get me wrong: Age has its benefits. I much prefer 58 to 28. As I described in my most recent book, “The Beauty of Dusk,” age can bring a perspective and sense of peace that are so elusive in youth, when many of us are too distracted — by self-doubt, by want, by envy, by vanity — to learn the trick of contentment.

But age also compels us to proceed with caution. To take greater care. The flesh-and-blood vessels that we occupy are more fragile. The promises we mean to keep and the plans we intend to execute can be postponed only so much. Time is of the essence. Which is perhaps why we’re graced with the wisdom to see that.

— Frank Bruni, from “A Personal Note” (NY Times, July 20, 2023)

20 thoughts on “The flesh-and-blood vessels that we occupy are more fragile”

  1. BAM…Frank Bruni penned a great op ed about the scary combination of legacy and conspiracy theorists in government. You’d think that his contention that a benefit of getting older is perspective and an awareness of time accelerating, there’d be a boatload of politicians clamoring to get off the carousel…you’d think..

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  4. I’ll. be ordering that book. I’ve come to the age where I understand that I never know when the next thing I know will be the last thing I know. Cheery thought, eh?

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    1. You’ve been ready this, have you Ray?

      White Men Experience Biggest Cognitive Declines After Retirement Alexandre Tanzi https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/ADENOlzHbyY/alexandre-tanziJuly 19, 2023 at 3:01 AM EDT

      Post-retirement cognitive declines were almost three times more acute among White Americans compared with their Black peers, and twice as large for men as for women.

      That’s according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/299/4u6313m6zb966jy51i3zoi5kk/14/c66abc80e35a783f43bd7a735363c223b6457fa99410bc30b501d5c4f76a91e0 *. *It found that immediately after retirement, white adults tended to experience a significant worsening of cognitive function, whereas for Black retirees the decline was minimal.

      White men experienced the steepest post-retirement cognitive decline, while Black women showed the least, according to the study, which tracked 2,226 participants over a period of up to 10 years. The findings were adjusted for socio-demographic variables as well as indicators of physical and mental health.

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      1. Thanks, I’ll read those later. I’ve seen that in acquaintances over the years. Another reason why I’ll keep working as long as I am able. There also have been studies that show white men have a higher rate of death within 1-2 years after retirement as they lose their reason to get up in the morning. This is especially true of us workaholics. You can only fish or golf so much and you lose your work friends and the thing you identified with most of your life, your job. What other fun stuff can we discuss this morning?

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  6. It appears to me that several of us are relatively close to the same age as Frank Bruni. (Paul reluctantly raises his hand.)

    I ponder how much time I have left every day, and how much time in my past that I wasted or wish I had spent differently. Unfortunately, this makes me sad.

    All I can do is use that wisdom and maximize the quality of the years that I have left! No point in dwelling on things that I can’t change!

    Wishing everyone a happy weekend!

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  7. (Sarcastically) No more studying this aging process stuff! We all get the general idea… LET’S ALL GO OUT AND PARTY!

    We can learn from Wally here! He’s never going to think about aging 🙂 My guess is that most of his life is one big party!! GO #TEAMWALLY !!

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  9. The less I can see, the wiser I choose what to read. Luckily the newspaper we sub, provides (awful) computerised readings if articles. But this guy speaks my mind and I wd read his work.
    I (too) am a truly happier person (hi team wally!) since focusing on the daily joys and pleasures instead of ‘what else could/should be done’.

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