Sunday, April 5, 2009

Age Invisibility Factor

Something I've noticed coming on for quite a few years now is what I call the human Invisibility Factor. You know, when you're young and vital with lots of friends and leading active, vibrant lives you stand out in the crowd and everyone knows your name and you're supremely there and alive at all times. You go through all these cool, active stages of life with incredible energy. You take off on a whim on adventures at the drop of a hat and live life large every waking moment. You take chances and do things just this side of dangerous without giving it a second thought. You feel there is no end to this life and nothing bad will ever happen to you.

You keep doing new and exciting things that are challenging and creative and easily feel bored if not on the run constantly. You spend time dabbling in religion, spirituality, philosophy and all night bullshit sessions with your like minded friends. You love with all your heart, lose your heart deeply with each relationship gone bad, jump into the whole sexual world with all your being and soul, with all it's incredible highs, lows and complications. Living life like there is no tomorrow.

I have to add that these wild times my friends and I lived involved the Sixties. So we also lived relatively cheaply. Rent, utilities, second hand cars and everything else you needed to live were very cheap and easy to come by. We had huge gardens and invited everyone over for these great "eat off the land" parties. This was the opposite of the "consumer society" we just got done with, I'm happy to announce, in the present times. We actually needed very little to be happy then. Mattresses on the floor for couches, bricks and boards for furniture, a wood stove for heat. Even our highs came from the land naturally.

Then slowly but surely, the financial realities of life started creeping in. Things started to cost more and more, forcing most of us to get real jobs (heaven forbid), cut our hair (good for me....."^), wear normal clothes, speak in plain understandable english (verses hippy talk). In other words we had to start looking and acting normal, like all the other robots of the world.

Well, as you start to blend in with the crowd and get older, a funny thing starts to happen. Your adult life starts out just a little transparent to others, especially the new generation coming along. Less and less strangers have any need to talk to you, ask questions of you or interact in any way with you out in public. It all starts to get more intense when you pass your sixties and into your seventies. By this time you become basically invisible to most people, especially strangers. This is what I call the Age Invisibility Factor.

Now there are exceptions to these new truths. The main one being our jobs. There in most cases is where we are still completely alive, vibrant, intelligent and alive. That and the new harsher economy is why most older folks are now staying in the workforce much, much longer. As far as the new economy, the new saying I hear more and more often these days is "I'm on the work until I die plan". For most of us the idea of quitting work, going home and basically dropping out of society is out of the question. In my case my job is my main social outlet. The most important realities of my life would be #1, my wife and life partner and my daughter both of which I owe everything I have and love to and #2 would be a very select few life long friends and #3 would be my long time customers which I consider to be my very good friends indeed and I have no intention of just walking away from them.

So, I guess I'll just have to accept my Invisibility Factor in life and know that I do matter to the people I love and care about and to them I am important, if for no other reason to keep them all from looking like bums.




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2 comments:

tom wardell said...

I still think you should write a book Paul. You have a gift for writing...Tom

Anonymous said...

Being invisible does have it's advantages. During those times of great frustration when someone acts stupid and is disrespectful I found that my wrinkled furrowed forehead,deep frown, and firey stare go unnoticed in most cases. It's actually a gift to be unnoticed in times like these only because confrontation would mean that I would then have to beat them senseless with my cane!!
Paul, you will never be invisible to your family, friends and customers no matter how hard you try, you are soooo loved!!
Crazy Neighbor T