The Big Unknown

I never really thought about getting old until I got old.

I suppose that’s how many of us think as we begin to enter what people call “old age.” But what is old age, anyway? I don’t know that there’s one correct answer, but I’d like to explore the question.

First, let’s see what Merriam-Webster has to say.

Old age (noun)

• The fact of being old.
• The time of life when a person is old.

Old (adjective)

• Having existed for a specified period of time.
• Showing the characteristics of age.

Age (noun)

• One of the stages of life.
• The period contemporary with a person’s lifetime or active life.

I chose definitions that relate specifically to a person’s lifespan because, whether I like it or not, they now apply to me. I’ve completed 70 trips around the sun, and by most definitions, that means I’ve arrived at what many would call old age.

So what does that really mean?

There are probably hundreds—maybe thousands—of answers. For me, it means I’ve started thinking more about something I rarely gave much thought to when I was younger: my own mortality.

Questions quietly find their way into my mind.

What’s on the other side?

Is there another side?

If there is, is it a physical place?

Will I still see, hear, feel, taste, and touch the way I do now?

Eventually, every one of those questions leads to the same place—the biggest unknown of all.

Is there life after death?

And if there is… what does “being alive” mean then?

I was raised in the Christian faith, where I was taught there is life after death. I learned that Heaven awaits those who have accepted God’s gift of salvation, while Hell awaits those who reject it. Those beliefs have been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

But as I’ve grown older, I’ve found myself thinking less about having all the answers and more about appreciating the mystery itself.

Maybe that’s part of growing old.

Not having fewer questions…

…but asking better ones.

So I’ll leave you with the same question I’ve been asking myself lately:

What do you think is on the other side?