On Youth

Youth provides freedom. There’s not much to answer for when one is young. What makes people grow, feel older, is taking on more and more responsibility. Sexual relations, a family, buying stuff, having a place to keep all that stuff: life changes rapidly when there are things to worry about besides oneself. And so does the ability to do what one wants. In a way, youth gets left behind because doing so makes people feel they are content.

But youth provides the conduit for acquiring new experiences. Happenings in one’s life dictate who a person is, what they will become. Pursuing interests is as easy as doing so if one learns to let go. Most people will say that following dreams is impossible; that’s because they never really try in the first place.

Work beats us up, takes our youth and gives us money. Once we physically stop to grow and our bodies and minds mature, so do our thoughts about ambition. We get locked into certain patterns and ways of seeing the world. Breaking free takes too much effort and will make too big of a mess.

Youth cannot be held on to, though. Everyday, it disappears like air slowly leaking out of a balloon. That’s what makes it so valuable; there’s only so much before it’s gone. Gold, on the other hand, will always be around, changing hands until people find something better to do with their time.

One can’t live forever. It’s best to really consider this. Tomorrow, tomorrow, is only a day away.