Aging is inevitable, no matter how much frustration or sadness it brings. Even our cells grow old. In a laboratory dish, adult skin cells divide about 50 times before stopping, while newborn skin cells divide 80 to 90 times. For elderly individuals, their cells only divide around 20 times. The process of aging is clearly reflected even in our genes.

Aging means the body grows older, but the heart does not. The heart, in fact, grows younger—wiser—and sees the things that once went unnoticed. Being older, being elderly, is not about lamenting aging itself; rather, it’s about fulfilling the role of an elder with dignity. As life’s accumulated light converges, it becomes a beautiful glow, like a sunset at the end of the day.

aging, wisdom, light