Do We Age Like a Fine Wine or Outdated Computer Hardware?
How we age – and perceive aging – is a choice we get to make.
Birthdays can be a mixed bag for most people.
I’m going to generalize here – but most people have 1 of 3 responses to their birthday:
- Joy
- Dread
- Utter nonchalance
I’ve seen all of the above among my friends and family. Hell, I’ve shifted between these myself.
My 30th birthday freaked me out. But my 40th simply occurred. My 50th is upon me – and I phase between utter nonchalance and joy towards it.
Overall, I love my birthday. It’s a personal New Year’s celebration as far as I’m concerned. That’s exciting – it means that there is new potential, possibilities, and a whole new year unfolding.
Most people react particularly strongly to major birthday years. Any age ending in 0 (i.e. 30, 50, 70) or ages ending in 5 (i.e. 25, 65, 75).
Society and the collective consciousness have a lot to say about aging. And because of “milestone” ages and expectations for achievement by a certain age – this can cause the joy, dread, or utter nonchalance people have towards their birthdays.
A lot of it has to do with how we age. Some people look and act younger than they are, others older. The process of aging impacts us all differently, too. Hence my question – do we age like a fine wine or outdated computer hardware?
How we age is a choice
While it’s true that genetics will play a part in the aging process – I firmly believe a great deal of aging is based in choices. Like the ability we possess to heal ourselves via conscious reality creation and mindfulness – how we age is part of that, too.
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “young at heart”. Keeping that in mind – I think it’s a large part of our overall attitude towards aging.
Some people see aging as a slow march to death. Others see aging as more learning, more understanding, and more life experiences under our belts. And to be certain – some people don’t give this any real thought at all.
There is no right or wrong here. But consider this:
While our souls are infinite, the meatsuits we experience this life in are not. On average, we get about 8 decades of life in the here and now.
This is why how we age is a choice. If we look to negativity and dread with every new year – consciousness creates reality. New pains, new age-related issues, less mobility, lack, scarcity, and other negatives will dominate.
Choosing nonchalance and joy, however, ages us quite differently.
Consciousness creates reality. Approach your birthday with joy or without giving it much attention and it’s likely to not impact you much at all – or for the good.
This is how we choose how we age. Biologically our bodies get older – but we are not just our bodies. We are made of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual elements.
Mindfully how we choose our approach impacts our aging.
This leads to my question today.
Are you a fine wine or outdated computer hardware?
What’s the difference?
One of the oldest bottles of wine is at least 1650 years old. It is believed this is still completely drinkable. A Domaine de la Romanée – Conti 1945 bottle of wine was sold in 2018 for $558,000. Fine wine increases with value as it ages.
Some people see themselves in much the same way.
My first computer was an Apple IIe that I got in 1985. The desktop computer I am using to write this article was purchased 2 years ago and is having trouble keeping up with my work. Recently, I upgraded from an iPhone 8 to the 13 because my battery wasn’t holding a charge long and I was running out of memory. Computer hardware becomes outdated increasingly quickly and loses value distressingly fast.
Some people see themselves in much the same way.
As Jen Sincero puts it – “self-perception is a zoo”.
Everybody ages. It’s an unavoidable aspect of the human condition. No matter who you are or how good your genetics are – you age.
Why? Because the one and only constant in the Universe is change. Change is the key to evolution – and part of that is aging. We gain knowledge and experience as we get older. How that impacts us – and if we see ourselves as a fine wine versus outdated computer hardware – is a choice.
How do we make that choice? Like we make any choice. Mindfulness.
Mindfulness and your age
One of the greatest joys I have is fencing against 20-somethings. People who have been living in their meatsuits for less time than I have been practicing the arte of defense.
What’s more – I’m not built like an athlete. I’m short and heavyset. And the single best mistake I love a newer, younger fencer to make is to presume I don’t move fast or have much in the way of reaction time.
Please make that mistake. It just lets me finish the bout in my favor that much faster.
My body will remind me that I am twice the age of these fencers – or more. Yet I do not let that be my truth. Mindfully, I choose to think, feel, intend, and act like I am both younger and in better shape than I am.
However, in the meantime – I am proud of all that I have learned and achieved during the almost 5 decades of my life. Like a fine wine, I age – and have accepted the grey hairs and creakier joints that come with this. Yet, by practicing mindfulness, I make choices and decisions to work to remain in this healthy, positively aimed mindset.
Practicing mindfulness is how we make the choice between aging like a fine wine or outdated computer hardware. By taking charge of our thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions, we can choose the paths we take – even that of our aging.
You will age whether you like it or not. But you can choose if you perceive that as a positive or a negative.
Yes, there will be bad days where it feels like the choice isn’t ours – but then the sun sets, and we reach a new day. With it comes new choices and decisions.
Mindfulness is the key.
You and your choices matter
Self-care often falls by the wayside. What’s more, we’ve too many examples of awful, narcissistic, selfish people we in no way desire to emulate.
The final – and arguably most important aspect of how we choose to age – comes down to how we treat ourselves. Do we revel in ourselves and act as though we’re worth a fortune and akin to a fine wine? Or do we abuse ourselves, let everything fall apart, and discard what we can like outdated computer hardware?
Self-care is not massages, plastic surgery, or extravagant vacations. Instead, self-care is daily practices like sufficient sleep, meditation, doing joyful things, and giving ourselves sufficient time to enjoy our lives however we can.
Sometimes that will look selfish to others. Saying “no” for our health, wellness, and wellbeing might appear to others to be self-serving. But sacrificing who, what, and why we are all the time for the sake of others is not healthy.
If we don’t take care of our minds, bodies, and souls – they will march towards obsolescence like computer hardware. But when we do care for them properly, they improve and become better with age like that fine wine.
You are worthy and deserving to age well. We all deserve to age like fine wine. The choices and decisions we make matter – just as much as we do.
And we are empowered to choose and decide our approaches to life, the Universe, and everything – including how we perceive how we age.
How do you choose to age – like a fine wine or outdated computer hardware?
This is the five-hundred and fifty-eighth exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.
I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.
The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.
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