How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?
Being over 40 now, this question is something I think about a lot. It always makes me think of the Bob Dylan lyric from My Back Pages, amazingly written when he was only 22!
I always interpreted the lyric to mean when you are younger you tend to take things more seriously (politics, beliefs, basically everything), especially in that late teens to early twenties period. As you get older I think these things ease up as you learn to accept things and become comfortable in both your own skin and the world you live in.
This doesn’t mean you stop believing in things and maintaining ideals, it just means you become more open to others opinions; most likely because you meet more people and go through more experiences.
It also doesn’t mean all people develop like this, as many stay fixed in position; stuck in their ways as the saying goes. Ever try building a piece of Ikea furniture with a 60 year old? Everyone develops differently.
I think it is something to aspire to – to develop the mind over your lifetime and achieve some sort of potential. The Greeks called it eudaimonia. Basically achieving a sort of satisfaction with your existence; reaching a level of happiness and well-being. It’s a nice aim in life, and even if you don’t achieve, I guess that’s what it’s all about, having something to work towards.
Significant life events and trauma play the role of striking a lightening bolt through your path, depending on the severity or good/bad it can be that moment where there was life before and life after.