Alter ist eine Illusion

Many people waste an enormous amount of time and energy trying to maintain the appearance of eternal youth. However, this turns their lives into a backward-looking avoidance project – they avoid aging and become the administrators of their childhood and youth. This very conservative attitude makes us old, because for our mature brains, it is now even more important to let go repeatedly, to make space in our minds for new things, for constant renewal. Only this keeps us truly young. For example, after experiencing setbacks, we often try to rebuild our lives as they were before. Bitterness is almost guaranteed because what was lost cannot be restored. However, if we open ourselves up to life again with courage, we often realize that we can do very well without what seemed indispensable to us. This experience makes us nearly invulnerable and internally free. From this, we gain a wisdom that manifests as cheerful serenity. In it lies the true maturity of a person – and aging becomes an illusion.