someone else' introspective

As I've aged, I've become kinder to, and less critical of, myself. I've become my own friend.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world, too soon;  before they understood the great freedom that comes with  aging.

 

Whose business is it if I choose to read, or play on the  computer until 4 AM?  I will dance with myself to  those wonderful tunes of the 60s & 70s, and if I, at the same  time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

 

 I will walk the beach, in a swim suit that is stretched over a  bulging body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to,  despite the pitying glances from the jet set.  They, too, will get  old.

 I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life  is just as well forgotten. And, eventually, we remember the important  things.

 Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your  heart not break, when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or  even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are  what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart never  broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being  imperfect.

 I am so  blessed to have lived enough to have my hair  turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and too many have died before their hair could turn silver.

 As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less  about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore.  I've  even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being older. It has set me  free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but  while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have  been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single  day (if I feel like it). excerpt from a msg adapted and reprinted.