The Body That Grows Old Too

I notice the discomfort of looking in the mirror and seeing a different body than before, slower, more aching, marked by the time that has passed or the illness that has come. The world treats this as a loss of worth, as if age were something to be ashamed of. I don't think that way, I never have. I never measured your worth by your appearance or by the physical strength you once had.

You can grow old, you can grow sick, you can change completely on the outside, and still keep bearing fruit that truly matters: accumulated wisdom, a peaceful presence, love matured through experience, stories that only someone who has truly lived can tell. I don't discard someone who no longer runs as fast as they once did.

I care for every stage of your body with the same tenderness as always, from the first to the last day of your life. Where there is pain, I hold you up. Where there is fear of decline, I offer my constant presence. You are still flourishing, even if in a very different way than you imagined when you were younger.