The Top of the World

The older I get, the more I have learned to understand other people. Now, I am not sure if this is a tolerance, or just that I simply have stopped caring so much what other people do anymore. I have learned that older people pay you more compliments and are not jealous. Is it simply because as you get older you learn to overlook the petty little things in life and truly are grateful for what you do have in your life? I always think about a saying I heard from the writer Dorothy Parker:

"As I grow older and older,
and totter toward the tomb,
I find that I care less and less
who sleeps with whom." 

I no longer care if a person does the right or wrong thing, as long as they are not hurting me personally. I find it true that the little things about people that used to annoy me or upset me, I simply disregard them now. I feel like my life is so good, I want everybody else to be happy. I do not harbor jealousy over others; rather I revel in the fact that my friends and family have nice things. I do not question a person who cannot afford to buy something, but they do any ways. I simply congratulate them.

I look at young women not in jealousy that they are younger than me or prettier than me, but rather how can I help them be even better or prettier, or brighter. Maybe growing old is not so bad – except for those terrible wrinkles, LOL.  

On the other hand, the older I get, the less tolerance I have for people who are not there for me when I need them. I consider myself a good friend, no a great friend. If somebody is ill or needs me, I try my hardest to be there for them. I expect the same in return – no questions asked. The older I get, the less I want to waste my time on people who are not really there for me. Why bother?

Now, this does not mean I hate them, or wish them any harm or want them to have a bad life. I truly hope they can be happy, but as Tevye says in Fiddler on the Roof, ”May the Good Lord bless them, but keep them far away from me." Now, you can only "write people off" in your life if you have become indifferent to them. If you still love somebody, you cannot truly eliminate them from your life; if you hate somebody you cannot truly eliminate them from your life. It is when you no longer care, then you can become indifferent to that person. It will no longer bother you to not have them in your life and you can move forward to bigger and better things.  

Growing older gives you the chance to become happier in many respects, because a lot of the pressures of raising your children and starting your career are alleviated. I love being around senior citizens because they have no judgments of others, they simply talk about what was wonderful in their lives and enjoy each day. Maybe that is because we know there will be less and less days to come? I don't know, but live each one of your days, "On The Top of the World." You never know if it will be your last ... 

Click here: Carpenters "Top Of The World" Original Recording, 1972 - YouTube