Forever Young

“The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.”

Oscar Wilde

Because aging is a gradual process, you don’t realise it is happening.

And suddenly you are old.

It occurred to me this morning in the gym, my training has shifted from what my goals are and what program to run to what exercises I can do without injuring myself.

I am programing my sessions around what my body can and can’t do.

This is age. This is getting old and it is happening one day at a time. Until you are dead.

Five years ago I could pull 220 for five reps. Today I pull 140 for three, on a good day.

I have not hit a squat in three years. Not because My shoulder is problematic and it no longer has the range of motion to carry the bar.

The shoulder problems mean I have not benched heavy for a few years.

My skin is old. It has this loose look to it. Fine wrinkles up close. It is thinner, scratches easier and marks more often.

A few years ago in the gym, it actaully looked like I trained. My skin was elastic, there was a tightness, it pulled over the body instead of draped.

“You become young at sixty. Unfortunately this is too late.”

Pablo Picasso

My skin has aged. It doesn’t exactly sag, it is like a bad fitting shirt, it hangs, softer. Things just don’t look… youthful.

It is not something I dwell on or worry about, it is just the way things are. To be almost 50 and still able to hit the gym every day and push out a few cardio sessions on top of that, I am not going so bad.

Once you get past the ego of lifting heavy, there is something therapeutic about working with your body as it grows old. A youthful body can take whatever you throw at it, the old body speaks and demands you listen.

“At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.”

George Orwell

Youth comes from the heart, or a state of mind if you aren’t sentimental. In some strange way, I feel younger today than I did 25 years ago. There is a freedom in growing old happy. My mind still relishes learning, my heart still loves Shell completely. The life we lead is full of change and wonder and adventure.

It is possible that some people my age, or even younger, have aged in their soul, not in their body. Their life has aged them, dimmed their light more than a physical aging could possibly do.

I have you met thirty year olds that looks 50.

There is nothing more tragic than an person aged through a sheer lack of joy.

The House of Wisdom for coffee and reading.

It is decision time for my study. It is looking more likely I will need to do another masters, this time research based, before I can undertake my PhD. It will put me back two years, but I do not mind. Study and academic learning is a journey, and one I enjoy.

I am not sure what my thesis will be at this stage.

We are catching up with friends tonight in the city. At a bar of all places. A Sky Lounge to be precise.

We decide to have a pre Sky Bar wine, which turns into two bottles. I sense a trend. To be fair, we drank half of one of the bottles the night before.

Wenche and Greame. Two interesting people that are great to be around.

Wenche has some kind of phone app that gives her discounts. We have half price drinks.

The Sky Lounge has great views, and even with the discount the drinks are expensive. It all falls apart when the the barman refuses to accept the discount. The manager is called in for clarification. Some terrible story that doesn’t make sense about the dealing ending in September. Odd, considering the offer ends in December and Wenche booked the table in November.

We leave for a nearby pub.

It is great conversation and I drink too much beer.

Like most cities, Dubai comes alive at night. Roads pulse like arteries and towering buildings are permanent light shows. Dubai is a city of the night.

Tonights pre Sky Bar drinks-

2019 Barahonda Carro (Yecla, Spain)

See previous notes.

2019 Castello Nipozzano Chianti Rufina (Chinati, Italy)

A solid rufina. Distinctly Chianti. Easy drinking.