I recently read an article that I really wanted to share. It’s by Margaret Renkl, a writer from Nashville who covers a variety of topics, including current events, the environment and life in the south.
She’s recently become a guest writer for the New York Times, which features her essays regularly. In fact, this essay, I just turned 60, but I still feel 22, was so well-received that the Times published it twice within only a few months.
“Sixty years have given me time to learn that friendship comes not from proximity…… Friendship is forged across time, through good fortune and tragedy alike, and true friends are those who keep on loving one another, even when it isn’t convenient and even when they don’t always agree.”
Margaret ReNkl
This is such a wonderful essay because it’s introspective, thought-provoking and beautifully written. Renkl does not include the typical cliches “age is just a number”, “you’re only as old as you feel”, etc. Instead she writes about her gratitude for being born when she was; women our age are so fortunate, because we’ve benefitted from the many medical advances which help keep us alive (antibiotics, vaccines, etc), but we’ve also benefited from the women who preceded us and whose hard work and perseverance have provided so many educational and professional opportunities for us. She writes that she is thankful for being old enough to recognize the true meaning of friendship, and to have a better understanding of the current world around us. Our experiences in life have taught us that in spite of the seemingly dire circumstances surrounding us, humans can persevere. During our many decades of living, we’ve seen difficult times, but we’ve also seen recovery from difficult times. Her words sum up these thoughts perfectly, ”On most days I’m simply grateful for the 60 years I’ve had……Sorrow in the face of aging would be a poor response to such good fortune.”
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read this piece and that it speaks to you as it did to me.
https://lightlynews.com/2021/11/01/opinion/opinion-i-just-turned-60-however-i-still-feel-22/