I believe age doesn't define anything, at all

@hartfire With all due respect, I have aevere bone diseases already at age 26 and have experienced more suffering than many do in entire lifetimes.

And while I not only understand, agree with and empathize with your sentiment, you have severely misinterpreted mine.

We are entitled to our own viewpoints but I assure you mine do not come from my lack of time spent here in this lifetime. I have grown old, and died, innumerable times as have you I surmise. And the limitations and expectations that come along with age are certainly nothing but social constructs.

You are only as old as you feel. And many young people are sickly and frail.
Succumbing to old age and dying is indeed apart of the human experience, but my belief remains that we as a species, place far too much importance on the number of years we have been alive. It is quite irrelevant, despite all of your valid points in old age.

And the slights that older people may face (as you described) at the hands of the younger, are strictly due to ignorance and arrogance, NOT age.

If more people were interested in the soul rather than the body/vessel we inhabit for this short time, you would understand what I mean.

So while I must clarify I meant in no way to invalidate or ignore the realities of the human body and its aging process, I stand by my ardent view that our Earth age is a mere calculation of our current lifetime, and plays no part in who we truly are, soul wise.

Thank you for your input.

@AKLRising I don't doubt the suffering you experience due to your bone disease, and I'm very sorry that you have it.

I don't believe in reincarnation or the capacity of a self to continue existing beyond the death of the body.

There are socially constructed expectations about the aged which often result in ageism and unjustifiable discrimination.
But also there are real limitations that do come with old age. It varies greatly, but the truth is that very few people live to say 104 and are still [i]compis mentis[/i] and spritely. If they do get to that ege, there are none that are not extremely frail.

If you are between 26 and 30 as your profile says, you've only just reached your prime. Perhaps, in a literal and medical sense, you have literally died and been revived many times. Perhaps your disease makes you "old" by comparison with others your age. Perhaps even your mitochondrial cells behave as if old. And certainly you would have suffered far more than the majority of your peers.
Suffering can lead to wisdom, depending how much we learn from the suffering and how much it enables us to feel empathy for others.

But the reality is no one can know the reality of the experience of until they have had the experience of it.
Go to a nursing home. Try feeding a person who has forgotten how to swallow. Bathe a 104 year old who is permanently cramped into a fetal position.
Try to soothe a person who feels fear every time she experiences mild seizures. I could give you thousands of experiences like these, every one of them different - but all due to old age.

Yes, I agree that many young people suffer diseases and disabilities. However, few old people live to be very old without suffering increasing pains, disorders and disabilities. The average elder living in aged care has eleven organs in the process of failing. 52% of people in aged care are there due to dementia. As it develops, the demented person cannot recognise their family; they lose their memories and their sense of identity. NAd it happens just as much to monks who had attained high levels of spiritual enlightenment.

Age is not a feeling. It's a fact of the number of years since birth.
A doctor commonly say a person is "young for their years" if they're much fitter and healthier than average - such a person might be energetic but still be immature for their years and incapable of healthy emotional relationships. Many older people never acquire wisdom.

Although some women may get hysterectomies while young, the majority stop bleeding around 50; within 3 years the skin starts to sag, wrinkles abound and sex can become difficult or painful.
For the majority of men after 60, their erections grow more rubbery and unreliable, until a day comes when only drugs will help them. But then their desire wanes and nothing can help that. The muscles of their bodies shrink. I'm speaking in generalisations here, with all the limitations that implies, but this [i]is[/i] what happens to the vast majority.

26-30 is only half of what it takes to reach middle age.
You've only just reached your prime.
Please do not presume to know what you haven't experienced and have no expert or professional knowledge of.

I agree that people are entitled to their opinions - but opinions and beliefs are not and cannot be facts.
Facts are they because they are based on physical proof.

@hartfire The most important things in life to be learned are that of the heart and soul, not of fact and science. While they play a very important role in our world here, and are valuable beyond measure, there is far, far more to life than what is within your arm's reach.

I have spent much time in nursing homes, my Grandma deteriorated in her old age from cancer, then a few years later I cared for and watched ,y grandfathers dignity and abilities be taken by age and parkinsons, the nursing home was a prison to him, and it broke my heart, so I visited him for as many hours as possible, as well as other people who didn't get much stimulation. I also took part in bringing justice to a horrid woman who was abusing her influence at the nursing home. One of my very best friends as a teenager was 89 years old, and I spent almost all of my time with her, going to plays and cooking together. She had heart problems and was determined to live on her own, gratefully she was able to until she died, and this is a small fraction of the up close and very personal experiences I have had with aging.

For many years, until I found proof of the divine and all there is out there to discover, I had a phobia of aging and death. A deep deep fear, when I turned 18 the panic was immense.

The suffering in my life I referred to was not physical, though I endure chronic 24/7 pain it was a childhood of abuse and trauma, and torture, that led me to the abyss, I attempted suicide several times in my youth (first time was age 11) and I have thankfully overcome and healed my mind from PTSD, an eating disorder, severe anxiety and chronic depression, as well as BPD. Over years of spiritual growth and self mastery. And all of that I now have as wisdom and awareness to guide me as I heal and guide others.

And I am still ignorant, I know that. Everyone is to some degree, there is always more to learn.
And I know many elders are wise, the term Crone which is now derogatory, used to be a title of honor and respect.
I have not claimed to know what it is to be an elderly human. I simply stated that I do not out stock in age. They are simply numbers and I can see that.

All the points you refer to are physical, that is where you misunderstand my initial sentiment, I do not deny or claim to speak on any of the awful and heartwrenching conditions you mentioned that are a side effect of old age,my idea and post is about the importance we place on the number.
Your age is a big part of who you are in our society, we measure privileges by it, rights, punishments, awareness and accountability, maturity, etc and it is my right to believe that is wrong of us.

I have known many older people or just adults like myself who are ignorant beyond belief. Their age has just been accumulated years of blindness. Then there are those like myself who acquire or are born with the wisdom of elders and full grown humans.

Your arguments, although all valid, are simply not relevant to what I was saying in my original post, and I hope you can finally see that.

And you are correct that I am not speaking of Earth-scienctific facts, and never claimed to be. I am speaking of what I personally KNOW to be true. I cannot and have no desire to prove the esoteric to you. That is something you may not be ready to get involved with. Or maybe you simply choose not to, either are respectable and not my place to judge.
But you also are asking me to not share my beliefs and my knowledge because they do not come from science, because they are not facts.

Well, I will assure you true maturity is of the soul, I can see beyond age and time and through the veil of the ego and earthly limitations. I am sure old age, when it comes for me (and if I am granted that gift, that many do not receive) will humble me and be a completely new experience I can only hope to embrace and endure to the best of my abilities, but it will not change the fact that this body and life is temporary, and I do not fear what I know will end and transform.

@AKLRising I accept all of what you say in this post.
We do have differing world views and beliefs, and fully accept your right to believe and think as you do.

I do think psychological (what you call spiritual) health is extremely important. It's an essential prerequisite for good relationships of all kinds and a functional society.

But to assert "you're only as old as you feel" makes it sound as if someone else's age and whatever conditions they suffer is purely a matter of their attitude - and I think that's a form of judgement and emotional abuse. It's tantamount to saying all maladies are psychosomatic, as if people are 100% responsible for whatever is wrong with them and chance is never a factor.

I realise that my tone sounds borderline rude. It's because in recent times I've increasingly heard this phrase bandied about, and have decided it's time to challenge the idiocy of it. It does no kindness to anyone.

@hartfire I understand that idea and do not think you rude. It is commemddable to stand up and speak out for what you believe in.
And that is what we are both doing, only having different beliefs we are defending.

However, I think it depends on the way that message is conveyed. And the intention. If someone is intending to put the blame on ailing people, that is wrong, I agree, but I do hold the knowledge that the mind controls the realities we exist in. I do believe (and have proved to myself) that our health is included under this sacred influence.

Now we cannot expect people to do what they do not know to do. I suffered for upwards of 20 years, and yes now I know I did have the power all along to end that suffering, that is what I know as fact, I still do not think I was to blame, as I had no idea how the Universe works, or that we all hold in us all we need and desire.
It sounds ridiculous to someone who's never experienced this, as you would say, and in this case it is true.
You will most likely not comprehend what Im saying as anything but hogwash, because you have not experienced the power of the mind. Not in the way I am speaking of at least, I am not speaking of your knowledge or wisdom here, just an obvious lack of understanding on the laws of the Universe I am referring to.

My point was, when I say things like that I am intending to enlighten someone, in that case it is a gift. If my council would have withheld this divine knowledge from me for the sake of not wanting to offend me, I would have lived in misery all my life.
Learning of the power of our minds saved my life, enabled me to do things I had been trying and failing to do all my life.

So again, I think it depends on how the statement is being shared. I am not intending to invalidate anyones suffering or insinuate they are at fault or deserve it, but if they would be willing to embrace the knowledge as I did, it is my duty to share what I have learned and what has proven true for me and many others since the dawn of time.

And, understanding what I am speaking about, would be a great kindness to anyone willing to hear it.

@AKLRising That's evangelism.
Most people detest being told what to believe.

@hartfire Not being told to believe it. Being told ABOUT it. Don't contrive assumptions from my words. I never stated I expect or would want anyone to believe what I do simply because I tell them to, not that I ever implied I would have the audacity to tell others what to believe.

But sharing with others what I believe? And leaving it up to them to decide if they agree or not? That is what I do
And only to people who are willing to learn.

And I am a spiritual guide and a natural teacher and healer. So many people come to me for guidance and I happily guide them. I am the first advocate for finding ones owns proof for any belief, and I would never advise a pupil of mine to blindly accept what I say, but to follow it and gain their own experiences and beliefs.

You seem to just be at a loss for arguements so you resorted to illogical accusations. No reason for that.

@AKLRising Sorry.
I guess I made a few stupid mistakes, partly because many evangelists here have made serious and relentless attempts to try to convert me - until I realised I could block them.
If people come to you and are happy with your teachings and help, then that's a great thing for both them and you.

@hartfire It is alright, I understand that and as a Pagan am often faced with zealots and people trying to force their beliefs on me.
Thank you for your understanding.

@AKLRising Thanks for your graciousness.
I think we started off on the wrong foot through a series of assumptions and misunderstandings. I'm really sorry about it.
I feel sure that you're a good person, probably much wiser in many things than most people your age.
And I'd probably like you a lot if I met you in real life.

@hartfire Thank you kindly, I couldn't agree more. You also seem wise and I'm sure I could learn alot from you.

@hartfire My name is Aravaeya by the way, happy to meet you. 🥰

@AKLRising We can all learn a lot from one another.
Today I've learned from you that I need to be far more careful not to jump to conclusions, especially with people I've only just met and on the basis of insufficient evidence.

@AKLRising Manna 💖 :) and the feeling is mutual.

@hartfire I have had to learn that myself, and you're right that we can all learn from each other.
From you I have been reminded that the way we choose to word things is important, so are disclaimers, and I could have taken more care to ensure I didn't misconstrue my intentions and risk offending someone.