Yes, Mr. Barrymore, Yes (Do You Agree?)

CallMeKate

Well-known Member
Location
Mid-Atlantic US
I read a John Barrymore quote... do you agree with his conclusion? It might be interesting to see if the agreement/disagreement is divided by age group, so if it's not an issue for you to do so, could you add your age with your answer? For me, I'm 65 and I agree with the quote. Once I'm in that rocking chair with no desire to get up, it means there is no hope left.

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. --John Barrymore
 

Man is not old until he closes his eyes to awareness, to the magic all around him.

Within him!

Happy inside! Feeling the fullness of the relative world, living in absolute consciousness.

I'll never be old. My soul will never die. I'm eternal.

Joy increases. Suffering falls away. Happiness and love are so important!



Oh, I was supposed to add my age. I was always told a lady never discusses her age.
"Over the speed limit and older than @Pepper! haha!"
 
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Maybe. I'm 70.

In the past year or so, I've had to let go of some of the dreams that made my life worth living.

At the same time, I deeply regret certain things in my past. Things I wasn't able to admit until recently. Some were my fault, some not.

I don't know how much of this has to do with age though. Some of it was triggered by recent circumstances.

Anyway, I look on it as time to leave old dreams and regrets behind, and build a new kind of life.
 
By his definition i would have known people who were 'old' at 40, 30 even, because they let regrets consume them. i don't think grand dreams, goals necessary to being happy with one's life--but an appreciation for the good in your life is, a capacity for recognizing things to be awed and/or joyful about.

i'm 76, (never claimed to be a 'lady' so tell it freely--besides also spent much of my life having my opinions and knowledge dismissed because people thought i was much younger than my actual age--i was SO glad when i got grey hair coming in). The days when i feel my age are almost always about physical limits encroaching on what i want/need to do, having to 'pace' myself, break big tasks in to smaller steps so i can feel productive (a lifetime habit--a little productivity and creativity every day help me fell good about myself.)

As much as it frustrates me at times i don't really resent my aging body--it is a natural process, i cope by staying as active as i can. What is more important to me is for my brain to stay sharp, for my ability to communicate to stay effective. Mental/emotional well being more important to me.
 
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I read a John Barrymore quote... do you agree with his conclusion? It might be interesting to see if the agreement/disagreement is divided by age group, so if it's not an issue for you to do so, could you add your age with your answer? For me, I'm 65 and I agree with the quote. Once I'm in that rocking chair with no desire to get up, it means there is no hope left.

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. --John Barrymore
No I don't agree. I've never been an ambitious person following after a grand dream and I've always felt deep regret for all my mistakes, starting at about age eight. So I don't give age qualifications to those two things.

Ideally, I would wish to have no regrets nor big dreams, but live contentedly in the now.
 

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