Not all excitement dies with age.
Sadly, we do get dulled over time. You become less responsive to sharpness as a mechanism of survival. Happy and Sad are muted by repetition. There is no whet stone for the human experience, for the soul - like exists for the blade. The soul is much less exacting and precise, for a very good reason. Young people feel intense emotions to propel them toward brave conquests. Aged folks have to compel themselves from another motive.
Recently, Dad got a new bicycle. He was tickled pink at the carbon fiber frame and snazzy components. It was a new toy, and we all love that feeling! What changes over time is not that you love a new toy, but what level of toy excites you this much. I want a piano really badly, but don't have one. When it finally materializes, I'll want it more than a bagel, or a shower, or music, because I recognize that I need a piano, like Dad needed a good road bike.
I want to learn to flip anticipation and its nervous flutters to need. I need breakfast tomorrow, but when it happens, I won't enjoy it because I didn't anticipate it. On the other hand, if I really needed and anticipated an omelette, I would A: miss it if it didn't happen OR B: enjoy it unabashedly when it did. Personally, I want to be on the latter side of that scale.
Shameless Bicycle Joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment