We Are No Longer Twenty Years Old and Invincible
When we are young, few of us know everything about the ways our life styles will affect us when we are older. We hear it all the time with people talking about how they are burning the candle at both ends and most of us would probably have to admit that we ourselves have done that on occasion.
Our twenties and early thirties are the times we feel invincible and are filled with idealism, energy and hope. The future is way out there. Now is what\’s happening. Four or five hours of sleep is all we need to get back down to partying, studying, working and attending a few classes here and there.
And then the forties strike and we need eight hours of sleep a night to get through the day without noticeable sagging around mid-afternoon. If we have children in our homes, their boundless energy alone is enough to sap ours. Even in our thirties if our kids are rambunctious enough, we can feel the sag of maturity closing in. Suddenly our twenties look really, really good.
Twenty something\’s generally pay no attention to the effect their choices may have on them later in life. They drink and smoke and pull all-nighters as if they will be 22 years old forever. Many have a cavalier attitude toward longevity saying they prefer to die young and healthy to old and infirm. This attitude disappears if the cavalier person lives to be fifty or so.
No matter what a twenty-something thinks, the truth is no one is invincible at any age. What we put into our bodies every living day does have consequences down the road. Some who are twenty years old now given a 30 year habit of smoking two packs a day will find these consequences in lung cancer. The heavy drinkers will find theirs in liver, pancreas or esophageal cancer.
It is true that bad habits are difficult to break and the longer we indulge them the more difficult it becomes to end them.
Thankfully, even if our bad habits as teenagers lead to cancer as adults, it is not a death sentence. Scientists around the world have been working hard for many years to find a cure for cancer. Now even if someone is diagnosed with cancer they have a way to fight it, and many people are given a second chance. While doctors and scientists cannot guarantee to cure everyone\’s cancer, because there is still a lot about cancer they don\’t know, they can help patients have a fighting chance at beating cancer.
Profound advancements have been made in medicine allowing many to beat cancer, which does not mean that we can cease taking care of our bodies. Medical breakthroughs are not a license to binge drink and smoke Marlboros to our hearts content. As adults, the responsibly is even heavier to encourage the younger generation to make wise decisions as they are clueless as to where those choices will lead them down the road.
So next time you get a chance to talk to your children or other teenagers in your life, try to pass along your wisdom. Who knows, that may be the one time they are actually listening!
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Category: Death
Keywords: sy schlager,growing older,youth,wisdom,aging,youth