the other side of olderi recently had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine over pizza and beer, a setting where many interesting conversations have been had. we got on to the topic of getting older and it turns out he and i had very different views on the behavior one acquires as one gets more experienced in the world. one of us argued that as we get older, we have more fear because we know the consequences of our actions as seen in the world around us. and as we get older, we have more at stake with the risks we take, so those consequences can cost us more, tying back to the fear of putting anything out there to begin with... risk more = lose more. the other person argued that age dissipates fear as we get more comfortable with ourselves and realize the path we want our lives to take. becoming older means we are able to make our own decisions and can have full faith in those choices because we're not trying to fit in by emulating the actions of our peers... more like nothing ventured, nothing gained.
i think my friend was as surprised by my strong stance on this topic as i was surprised about his, as we have shared similar life experiences (about the same age, have traveled and lived abroad, diverse friends and activities, etc). i'm not going to say which side of the coin was my point of view, but as life moves forward, i am definitely curious about that other side...
current mood: either way, experience is a great teacher