Serious debate, Please think before you post (and leave your age also)

[Bob A Job]

1) 'Does the mind grow old or just more cynicle?'

2) 'Are the young arrogant, and too keen for a revolution. or are the old closed minded and set in their ways?'

3) 'Do we really mature emotionally, or just get used to comfort and take the easy option?'

[artee]

Hi BAJ.  I would like to know how old you are too. I'm just reaching 65.   I believe that the body and the mind grow old  together, as in deterioration, but the mind is to do with attitude, and this is different with each person. eg  I could be cynical with all the awful things that i have had to deal with over the years, but I'm not as it is not in my nature to be. Cynical people are many times like that all of their lives, and can become worse as they grow older.

2.  I know people in their 80s and most are very set in their ways, but occasionally I have come across one who is much more liberal minded than I am. Even some in my own age group are set in their ways and I'm very glad that I am not. Where the younger people are concerned I see that they are far more liberated, in general, than we were when younger, and are keen for changes that suit their lifestyles. The arrogant ones who are keen for a revolution are more in the minority I think

3. Unless we have something wrong with us, eg faulty nervous system or endocrine system, I reckon we do mature emotionally, and this because of our experiences with others, and coming to terms with the way things are, and understanding the whys and wherefores. Along the way we make an awful lot of mistakes in judgement  to get to this state of mind. There are those who take the easy comfortable way, and many of those are like that when they are young also.

Personally I think that we are what we are. Born with our basic personally which we can improve on over the years, or go on unchanging..........I MAY BE DRIFTING HERE........

i

[oxeyedaisy]

i am 48 and my mind hasnt grown old thank you very much..you just see things different from experience and trials and tribulations you have dealt with..you tend to sit back and try to be rational..young people today have more freedom ..more money ..and more opportunity than we had so they make the most of it..they too will change with age its just a part of life that happens to us all..i dont think i am set in my ways i have allways been stubborn so if their is something i dont wish to do or change then you or anyone would have a hard time changing my mind..but thats not because i am old its the way i am..i think values and respect have changed and sometimes manners..but life is more materialistic than it was and people allways want more..we all grow old and get illnesses and that also changes the way you think..i have a very rare form of anaemia that can kill you without life saving injections i cant do as much as i used to i cant go out like i used to as it exhausts me..that has changed my life and the way i think as i cant zip around like i used to..young people today can travel anywhere cheap and enjoy life to the full good luck to them as life is for living..and far to short to waste it..as you never know what is waiting for you round the next corner in life..

[woofgang]

I am 51 and think that I have grown less cynical with age, more ready to believe that people are basically good and that the universe isn't out to get me, that I can change things and that it is worth trying to do so.

Its a function of youth to question everything and have belief in their own invincibility. The innocent arrogance of youth, when not expressed in violence and bad manners is a beautiful thing, as beautiful and as evanescent as the behaviour of the young of other species trying their muscles and abilities.

I think that when I was younger, I thought that to change one thing you needed to change everything, as you get older you realise that that isn't true, and that small changes and actions do add up.

The last question is a bit more difficult for me to answer. Any kind of maturity implies growth and change and to me emotional maturity implies growth and change through experiential learning.

 Can't remember who said it, but if we do not learn from our history then we are condemned to repeat it.

Speaking personally, I am more ready now to the the harder emotional options that I was when I was younger, more ready to give and receive emotional support, more able to have difficult conversations, both personally and professionally.

Do I feel things less deeply now? Absolutely not. Do I have more control over the actions that result from my feelings? Absolutely yes. If that was not a function of maturity, then we would not be able to have a democracy, a stable society, or indeed raise our children without killing them!!

Thank you for your interesting question. Can I ask, like artee, how old you are and also why you posted the question?