The Art of Growing Old

I am a huge music fan.I really enjoy listening to music and I love the way it moves me.  One of my favorite artists is Kid Rock and I appreciate his skill in mixing rock n roll, rap, country, and heavy metal and his unique ability to be any of the four or all of them at once.  I can scratch my musical itch whether I simply want to rock out or whether I am feeling the need for something more enriching. 

There are several lines from one of Kid Rock’s songs that particularly move me.  In the middle of his Rock N Roll Jesus album is a song titled “When U Love Someone”.  During the song, the music slows and he sings “Do you believe in the art of growing old?  I often ponder these words and why they strike me like they do. 

I love the fact that he calls it the “art” of growing old and not the “science” of growing old.  Although there is probably a more concrete definition, I believe the difference between science and art is that science is measurable while art is in the eye of the beholder.  The science of getting older and the cellular, physiological, biological, etc. changes that occur will have a tremendous impact on our lives, but, my experience working with people shows me that those who grow older in art age much better than those who do not. 

There is one thing that is inescapable; we are all getting older every day.  I think those that seek beauty, peace, and meaning in their aging journey will find their older years are more enjoyable than those who constantly try to measure their position in life. 

In the future I want to share the next lines of this song as I believe they can give us some insight on how we can live in a life where there is an art to growing old.  If you get a chance, listen to the song and you can hear those lines, but, in the meantime, take some time to consider how you choose to age.  I speak with clients all the time and we often discuss that retirement is not only a financial journey, but also an emotional, mental, and spiritual journey.A journey that we do not always want to measure with dates, numbers and statistics, but one we also want to measure with the art around us.