# 27 Notes on Growing Old(er) ![rw-book-cover](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5Mzr!,w_1200,h_600,c_fill,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff6c4d350-d3c7-4a2c-bfb8-36c2e8810e3f_1200x690.jpeg) ## Metadata - Author: [[John Leslie]] - Full Title: 27 Notes on Growing Old(er) - Category: #articles - Summary: insert summary - My notes: - Summary: Growing older is a strange and often difficult experience that many people do not openly admit. We feel younger inside than we really are, which creates a confusing gap between our body and mind. Despite the challenges, ageing teaches us acceptance, wisdom, and the importance of living fully every day. - URL: https://substack.com/home/post/p-167177486 - Source File: web-only ## LLM Chats ## NotebookLM ## LLM Audio ## Highlights > • The American poet [George Oppen](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?volume=95&issue=4&page=37) said my favourite thing about growing old: “What a strange thing to happen to a little boy.”[1](https://substack.com/home/post/p-167177486#footnote-1-167177486) I love how this evokes the subjectivity of a bewildered child trapped inside an aged body; a boy staring at his wizened hands and wondering what *on earth* is going on. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jzczgaeh3adzgqz52t1m0pcx)) - Tags: [[quote]] > There’s a kernel of truth, by the way, in that Rat Pack-era Frank Sinatra line about how he pities tee-totallers because when they wake up in the morning, they know that’s the best they’re going to feel all day. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jzczjah2tmww0wdpvtp7ps4f)) - Tags: [[quote]] > In your twenties, you say “about three years ago” of memories you can only hazily locate on the timeline. Then at some point you suddenly hear yourself say “ about twenty years ago”. And you hear yourself saying it again and again. About things that feel like three years ago. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jzczkpwz8yddy8h6j11gvv0g)) > People who know they’re approaching the last stop aren’t wiser than the rest of us, they’re just even more self-deluded than we are. I recently listened to an interview with [the entrepreneur/self-help guru Alex Hormozi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky1oHHJ5Ne8). I liked what he said about those “deathbed regrets” which get spun into cute homilies - I wish I’d stopped to smell the roses, I wish I’d seen more of my children, and so on: *“The human condition is that we want it all, and we're not willing to make trades…‘deathbed regrets’ typically have the bias of wanting the other path - the path they could have taken - without considering the cost of that path. So they say "Hey I was really successful and I did all these things, but you know, I would give it all up today to have my family.’ It's like, well yeah, but you didn't, because you actually chose the path that you're on, and you weren't willing to do that. What you are saying right now is that you want it all. Sure. So does everyone.”* ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jzczwqm6tjd6eqxhfzyebadm))