Ageing Mentality

Life is tenuous. As I think that, Freddie is singing, ‘Life could be heaven for everyone.’ Well, not for me. Heaven is for believers. Then Freddie is singing, ‘I’m just a shadow of the man I used to be.’Now that is closer to home, he is singing for me after all. I am in one of those moods only the aged can understand. That the future is a little curtailed. I am not sure when that happened but I did suddenly realise that it was a fact. A lifetime of anticipating a future was changed. However, it is not quite as depressing as it sounds. My mood today is good. That is because Ann and I headed off on a run to Castleton yesterday. That run was in an atmosphere of ageing mentality.

The excitement of age

At Castleton, we went round to Winnats, then up the hill past Treak Cliff and up to Blue John. Then the long ridge run back around the top and over to Bradwell. We felt good, it was warm and masses of wildflowers were out. Back home, the app told us we had run 10 miles. What joy from the electrical wizardry. That buzz stays with us, that our ageing bodies can still do it. However, only yesterday we said farewell to two Australian friends after a meal at The Barrel, a very good meal. They come over every two years and – will we see them again? There are four of us, all ageing and creaking. The farewell was emotional.

Ageing Mentality

I could be depressed but no! The reality is that age contains its own excitement. Any of us could die at any moment and that puts a little jeopardy into our lives. It should be this way, that nothing is certain and that change is assured. The new state is going to be death so embrace it. Right now, the Peak District is heaven. Even Freddie and Queen have a song for that new state, ‘It’s a beautiful day’. It is no more beautiful anywhere than here, now!