The above is taken from the poem, “Morituri Salutamus: Poem for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Class of 1825 in Bowdoin College”, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
I’ll admit it. I am growing older. And it is easy to think that all of the best days are in the past, and it grows increasingly more difficult to think in terms of making a contribution that is beneficial to others. And perhaps it is easy to think that skills acquired in the days of youth are now declining, and acceleratingly so. Culturally, it seems as though the older demographic of society is being encouraged to step aside and clear out of the way for the younger generation. It would take no effort to do so, and life could be comfortable. But it might not be advisable.
“It is too late. Ah, nothing is too late.”
The portion of the Longfellow poem shown above has much to say about the contributions of people who were considered to be old, and maybe in some cases even very weak. And please consider that the people mentioned in this poem lived many centuries ago, prior to the advance of medical technology and the longer life span it can help provide. Yet they demonstrated tremendous skill, thinking, artistry.
So we should not, “sit idly down and say, ‘The night has come, it is no longer day'”.
As this poem points out, opportunity for those advanced in years comes clothed in different apparel than the opportunity of youth. No longer do I pursue activities that were a part of the day when young, requiring strength, speed, quick reflexes. Activities physically beyond me now. Those things are now a part of my night. And so as the twilight fades away into the night, I have the opportunity to fix my eyes on stars, not previously seen, which provide new opportunities to make a difference in the lives of other people. To stay engaged. To keep striving for excellence.
And so it is for all of us. We are all advancing through the years. The choosing is ours.