age is not a number
A couple of nurses have told me this old nurse idea. Nurses used to believe in the power of the full moon because they always remembered accidents associated with the full moon, so naturally they assumed that accidents occured more often during a full moon. But then one nurse did point out to me that the only reason why they thought more accidents happened during a full moon is because they saw and remembered seeing the full moon. People had to be shown that there was never any statistical evidence to prove that the full moon had an effect on people.
The point of the story is the reason why and how we remember things is based on two things: the intensity of the moment (i.e. emotionally, physically, intellectually) and by association. Have you ever thought about how you have your own memories? The only reason why it seems like a straight line is because we can remember how that memory is related to the previous and future versions of yourself. Think of it like a river, physically the river is a different composition from day to day, moment to moment. So depending on your perspective on time, you could technically say that the two instances of time are two unique rivers. And in a sense, the different versions of the river could be explained as past versions.
So when the question of how old you are comes up, I think people are really trying to get a sense how much experience you have in this lifetime. Is that not the reason why naive = young, old is associated with wise? And when I say experience I am saying the number of memories a person retains.
Does not everyone remember the first time they fell into love, fell out of love, first time they had sex, first time someone important to them died? And on a less personal level, where you were when 9/11 happened, when JFK died, when Princess Di died, when we landed on the moon?
All of these experiences retain one core similarity, they all made us feel something very and perhaps overwhelmingly profound. The reason for the memory is similar for all of us, but what we remember about the moment is human specific. The uniqueness of everyone's memory is defined by all those details we associate with the memory: where we were, who was there, and the emotion of the environment.
The reason why being older is associated with wisdom is because you probably have a better chance at realizing how hard life really is for everyone. But also in understanding that, you begin to understand how happiness could not exist without sadness. The reason why falling in love is so good is because you take the chance to fall out of love. And when you watch someone die, you also start to think about how important your own life really is. Expectations begin to become much more managable with experience.
My point is that when we answer with an age, it is not as indicative of a persons personality as we think it to be. We all stereotype how experience and well adapted a person is likely to be. And as hard as it may sound, we are all capable changing that stereotype within ourselves.
If you want to be simple, naive, and narrow minded, experience the same thing over and over and never get out of that cycle. To be wise, do something new and feel something while you are doing it. Find things that you are willing to fight for, die for. These are things where you will find
passion and inspiration.
And just because I am young do not tell me that I can not be wise.
"We live in deeds, not years: In thoughts not breaths; In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best." -Aristotle-
The point of the story is the reason why and how we remember things is based on two things: the intensity of the moment (i.e. emotionally, physically, intellectually) and by association. Have you ever thought about how you have your own memories? The only reason why it seems like a straight line is because we can remember how that memory is related to the previous and future versions of yourself. Think of it like a river, physically the river is a different composition from day to day, moment to moment. So depending on your perspective on time, you could technically say that the two instances of time are two unique rivers. And in a sense, the different versions of the river could be explained as past versions.
So when the question of how old you are comes up, I think people are really trying to get a sense how much experience you have in this lifetime. Is that not the reason why naive = young, old is associated with wise? And when I say experience I am saying the number of memories a person retains.
Does not everyone remember the first time they fell into love, fell out of love, first time they had sex, first time someone important to them died? And on a less personal level, where you were when 9/11 happened, when JFK died, when Princess Di died, when we landed on the moon?
All of these experiences retain one core similarity, they all made us feel something very and perhaps overwhelmingly profound. The reason for the memory is similar for all of us, but what we remember about the moment is human specific. The uniqueness of everyone's memory is defined by all those details we associate with the memory: where we were, who was there, and the emotion of the environment.
The reason why being older is associated with wisdom is because you probably have a better chance at realizing how hard life really is for everyone. But also in understanding that, you begin to understand how happiness could not exist without sadness. The reason why falling in love is so good is because you take the chance to fall out of love. And when you watch someone die, you also start to think about how important your own life really is. Expectations begin to become much more managable with experience.
My point is that when we answer with an age, it is not as indicative of a persons personality as we think it to be. We all stereotype how experience and well adapted a person is likely to be. And as hard as it may sound, we are all capable changing that stereotype within ourselves.
If you want to be simple, naive, and narrow minded, experience the same thing over and over and never get out of that cycle. To be wise, do something new and feel something while you are doing it. Find things that you are willing to fight for, die for. These are things where you will find
passion and inspiration.
And just because I am young do not tell me that I can not be wise.
"We live in deeds, not years: In thoughts not breaths; In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best." -Aristotle-
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