Kilkenny Live Opinion: You are as young as you ever will be and you might as well accept it! -

I spent my late 30s referring to myself as ‘almost 40’ much to the annoyance of a friend, whose birthday falls in the same week and who would remind me that one day we would be 40 and there is no turning back of the clock.

The aforementioned friend was adverse to me even flippantly putting extra years on the clock knowing well that time flies by. It was not about turning forty more about enjoying and appreciating the age I was at.

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After turning forty I changed tact and have maintained the staunch position of being ‘in my early 40s’ for the foreseeable future. I have forsaken putting a number on how old I feel and I like it! I am most definitely embracing being physically and mentally able to live well and for me that is all that matters. I have good friends whose ages span over sixty years - wise, sensitive souls in their early twenties and roguish thrillseekers who are approaching eighty and show no signs of slowing down. Their character, essence and ultimately their beings are ageless to me and always will be.

Age is a funny concept - most people use it as a measuring stick as if certain ‘milestones’ should be attained in a certain order and after a certain period of time. In reality however once one hits adulthood really it is down to you- how you choose to live your life and the pressures and responsibilities you want to take on.

You can, if you want, strive to be in a meaningful romantic relationship, to have children alone or with another, to remain single and bask in your own solitude, to adopt animals or causes, to work chained to a desk or to be a digital nomad or somewhere in between, to spend your time volunteering, to care meaningfully for others. to travel without a final destination - the choices are endless.

With modern science we are living far longer than our grandparents and the generations before them. Ironically we will have on average more time here on planet Earth than our ancestors but yet many feel a pressure or rushed much of the time. There is constant messaging to be present, to be mindful, to do more. Often people seem almost lost in a fog of social media messaging and sinking between various devices and platforms where those in a virtual reality appear to be having a ball. It would be prudent to remember that it is indeed virtual and also these sites and platforms are owned by hugely wealthy corporations where you the user is more often that not the product. All of the above is another life choice that did not exist a mere few decades ago and there is a growing movement turning their backs on social media and its inherent toxicity.

We are privileged to live in a country with a decent social welfare system and almost full employment so there is work there if you want it. With some planning and lifestyle choices plenty of people choose to rewire and change their career paths and their life trajectory several times during their lifetime. There are several chapters, bound carefully together. For me it is about staying interested and curious in what life has to offer and nature in its itself is abundant.

It is always a good time to ponder on whether to reset the button because the undeniable truth is that none of us know when our time is up and our precious life will be over. Recently I have heard many conversations where people are lamenting their youth instead of embracing their life as it is right now.

Time is the most precious commodity we have yet so many of us let it fall through our hands like grains of sand until one day there is no sand left. People worry about nonsense and things they have no control over and often don’t act over the areas of their lives where they can execute and exact meaningful change. Most of the stuff people worry about really doesn’t matter.

Personally I am done with the negative chatter around ageing - it is a cliche but it is a privilege denied to many and it is a good thing to remember and respect this. Our bodies and bones and skin will undoubtedly be more weary and wrinkly as the decades roll on but this is nature in its essence and one can embrace it while still allowing their physical self to push itself to new limits and their spirit to expand.

I hope to live to be at least 100, maybe 110, who knows maybe even older. But I don’t know, I could be struck down later today, tomorrow, in ten months or in ten years. Life is fragile, not necessarily short, so don’t buy into the advertising mantra of anti-ageing and the tech giants trying to profit off a virtual reality that is not real. Remember you will never be as young as you are today so get busy and embrace living.