Thursday, April 30, 2015

Old and Boring


‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension.
Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.
It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.
We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when
mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?
‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.
The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.

Published in Free Press Journal
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)



‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. lead 2
- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.xNqxWRJC.dpuf

Old and boring…


Elderly Indians participate in celebrations to mark Internationa


SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. lead 2
Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.
It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.
We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?
‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.
The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf


Old and boring…


Elderly Indians participate in celebrations to mark Internationa


SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. lead 2
Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.
It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.
We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?
‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.
The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf


Old and boring…


Elderly Indians participate in celebrations to mark Internationa


SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. lead 2
Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.
It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.
We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?
‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.
The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf


Old and boring…


Elderly Indians participate in celebrations to mark Internationa


SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. lead 2
Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.
It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.
We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?
‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.
The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf


Old and boring…


Elderly Indians participate in celebrations to mark Internationa


SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.
‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. lead 2
Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.
It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.
Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.
Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.
We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.
Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?
‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.
The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.
(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)
- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf

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