a child will lead them

I've been thinking a lot lately about all the things I've learned from my younger friends. All the worlds opened to me. My shy and bashful eyes reveling in it all. My youthful masters play tour guide to all that exists, and without knowing, all that might exist within me. That makes me feel good. Innocent and a little ashamed of myself. But good.

I wonder if it's because youth keeps us young. Still, we age. But we pick up so many pieces of art, humor, technology and culture from our juniors. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet of stuff we didn't know about. Everyone should have the pleasure of wising up to the fact that they're not as wise as they thought. I highly recommend it. I feel sorry for the people who don't. I think they're missing out. It stings for a bit, but the upside is tremendous.

I do know this. I know it's not because people love feeling ancient. In fact, I'd venture a guess that most people who are ancient are only glad to be ancient because of the alternative.

We find ourselves in a conversation about music. We don't know the band and we feel old. Everyone wants to go to another bar. We want to take a handful of Advil and go to bed. We won't turn down sex. But sleep sounds pretty good, too, if it's really late. It's funny how it all works. It's happens. To most everyone.

We age and our opinions and habits age right along with us. We get stuck in our ways. And that's okay a lot of the time. But let's not let ourselves get to a point where it's easier to shake our heads than ask questions. It's been said that you're only as old as you feel. Maybe it's that you're only as smart as your pride.