LA VIEILLESSE M’APPELLE …J’OSE LA REGARDER

OLD AGE IS CALLING ME…I DARE TO LOOK AT IT

In Goethe’s Faust , and in the Gounod's opera Faust, the legend starts with  the old Faust lamenting about his old age and his youth gone, leaving him alone, hopeless, and  with NOTHING…But still hungry for life!

His old age prevents him to find friendship or love, and the possibility to participate in the defense of his country is now impossible…. After attempting to kill himself, in despair he calls Satan to his help:

“ A moi Satan!!!!’’

Mephistopheles appears and immediately seizes the opportunity to possess another soul and  very fast he makes a deal with Faust : I can give you back your youth and all its wonders if you only give me your soul!

Faust first seems to hesitate but very fast the temptation is too strong, and he accepts, dreaming of a reborn youth… Mephistopheles, smiling and triumphant , proclaims :

LA JEUNESSE T’APPELLE, OSE LA REGARDER !!!

YOUTH IS CALLING YOU , DARE TO LOOK AT HER!!!!

Mefisto in this moment refers to a vision of Marguerite, but she is only the symbol of what youth can bring: a new life, a new love and all adventures open again to him…

Of course, this kind of deal can be  tempting, and this call can be in the mind of many people for many years,  with even sometimes the thought of jumping in the opportunity without thinking about the consequences.

YOUTH IS CALLING YOU, DARE TO LOOK AT  IT!!                                           It seems that today , too many people lose their youth too early in life and yes, there is a big temptation  to sell our  soul in order to become young again and then continue to believe we can have some kind of relevance in life and impact on the world or on  anything we consider important...                                                       Today many losing their youth, try to  find it again by adding  to their everyday life, addictions, superficial and dangerous elements in order to rejuvenate a lost youth  or even worse decide to renounce life by hiding behind solitude.                     

Yes , it could be tempting but sometimes events in life, not necessary positive or happy can make you think about another alternative that Faust should have considered :

OLD AGE IS CALLING ME…I DARE TO LOOK AT IT.

Old age sometimes can be only the next step of life and does not necessary refers to the  date of birth.

Sometimes  dramatic events in our life, even if before we had lived through many others that were much more destroying, create a new way to look at things, a different approach to deal with society, and open our eyes and our intellect to new ways of handling the judgements of others.

So, Mefisto, I say NO TO YOU…

You can keep your offer for a new youth and all your promises of possible great times and possible great achievements, we do not need it anymore. This offer is now part of another time , of another dimension , of another reality… We will not choose that path of existence, our priorities, our mind, our thoughts, our beliefs and our heart do not anymore include that possibility.

Another time can be here and we have to look at it with joy and peace of mind:

OLD AGE IS CALLING ME…I DARE TO LOOK AT IT.

Actually we can even go further:

OLD AGE IS CALLING ME…I WANT TO LOOK AT IT.

These days,  society is based on what is new, what is different, what is not expected…We live in a world where it seems that to be young , or at least not to be old, is a necessity in order to function, to be taken seriously, to be fashionable, to be creative, to be inventive, TO BE !!!                                                                        Experience is not an asset anymore but it is seen as …No more comments!!!!

But I still say no to Mefisto.

 For the past 45 years, I can say without hesitation or even a doubt, that I have always been THERE for family and friends in need -and  even there for not very close friends-  giving them my time , my thoughts, my advice, my way of thinking, but always letting them decide to take it  or ignore it or deny it, but I was there for them.                                                                                                                  

Along the way of my life , I am not afraid or ashamed to say that I have helped many dozens of people!!!!!!!!                                                                                         

I am sure I made many enemies acting that way , some people believing I was doing all this to feel important and gain power over them, and sometimes even thinking I was doing all this for personal gains!!!

How many enemies I must have made by not always answering some people asking for help, and this maybe by lack of time, by inadvertence,  or absence of real information!!!                                                                                                                                    

Did I do all this to prove to myself that I was still young and inventive and strong and powerful  or maybe did I do it, wanting to feel alive or trying to deal with the demons of my youth?   Maybe!!!!!

Did I expect something in return???? Should we keep in our memory all the good we did for people and expect something in return? What about all the great encounters, the close relationships we lived with some people, should it stay forever in our mind and our psyche and should that be a sufficient return?

WHAT IS IN RETURN from the good actions of our youth or our earlier chapter of life? Most of the time , nothing , except the feeling that our youth has been well lived even if sometimes mistakes, wrong choices and bad decisions were made !                                   

But to try to perpetuate youth or an imitation of youth is wrong and should be denied by ourselves, time comes when the next step is right in front of us, and we should accept it with an open mind and a free happy spirit.

Yes, old age should bring some kind of peace of mind, and even more freedom to help others, to understand the needs of friends around us, and to be there for them by giving the thoughts of digested experiences and sharing if necessary the knowledge and the possible resolutions of life’s dramas.  

Old age teaches us how to forgive the ones who were not there to help us in moments of need, we are all crossing very difficult times in life, decisions can be very hard to make, and sometimes some choices can be the result of just surviving in our profession , our private life …                                                                                     

 Choices to ignore or to condemn can come from STRONG NECESSITIES of life, and old age can create one very important feature: The understanding of other’s actions and less negative judgements about their decisions.

 I often talk in the blog or in everyday life about using our personal experiences for artistic creativity or when we are faced with difficult situations… By doing it we will be able to deal with  the puzzle of life or the unbalancing traumas we are very often confronted with …                                                                                                                                            Let’s use our old age the right way, we should continue to imagine, to build, to visualize other possibilities … let’s continue to be creative and inventive supported by the extraordinary amount of learned experiences, of actions, of thoughts, but also of failures and mishaps we have gone through and acquired in the journey of life.

Yes  we can and should continue to try to be creative. We cannot and should not fall in the dismissal given by others because of a so called old age, even if sometimes the  possibility and the desire to continue life is denied.

But always keeping in mind, that the first duty is to be always  there for others….Even if sometimes there is no real reciprocity, or even a sign of thankfulness. 

And still NO TO MEFISTO.