Growing....wiser

Aging.
The word has a musty feel to it. And, at least in our society, I think it’s a word that strikes unease – if not fear - into many a heart.
After all: Who wants to grow old?
But maybe we need to re-think our attitudes.
I hope we’re all glad to look ahead at (G-d willing) future decades filled with exciting potential.
But they are just that: Potential.
The future is just an amorphous, yet-to-be-actualized possibility.
Conversely, the years behind us are ‘in the bank’. The good that we’ve done is ours to keep; no one can take it from us (yes, things can - G-d forbid – go awry, to the extent that we can no longer appreciate the previous good; but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen).
In addition, our experiences bring insight that no textbooks or teachers could ever afford us.
So right now, sitting in front of my computer, I probably have another 11-12 waking hours left to the day.
So let me think: What should make me happier in the context of my life?
The present fact that I have those hours ahead of me?
Or [the possbibility of] tonight’s bedtime recognition that I spent them well, in alignment with my life-goals and reason for being?
It’s good to be younger. It’s also good to have time-well-spent in the bag.
Getting older is part of life. The disempowerment of aging is not.
In this week’s Torah portion, Abraham is described as having “grown old”, and as “coming along in/with his days”. Abraham didn’t just pass time with his life, and his youth was not a thing of the past. Abraham brought his days with him. Every day was a day of achievement, learning and growth.
So when Abraham was wizened and of weakened body, he possessed the spiritual strength of a life well-lived. He wasn’t only looking hopefully ahead to quiescent potential; he was looking gratefully back on actual meaningful days.
It shouldn’t be unease; it should be quiet gratitude for the past and hope in the future.
Age with grace.