When Are We Too Old to Love?

A friend once said to me, “aren’t you too old to deal with this bullshit?”… and after hearing those words echo through my mind, the rational side of me silently replied “yes”. But the human side, the emotional side, the “real life” side could feel the heat rise through my body as my anger grew to a scorching rage.

Too old… TOO OLD??? At what age do we surrender our humanity? Is there a specific time limit on having the ability to love… to care… to feel for ourselves and other human beings? Do we simply click off like robots when the factory warranty expires?

Pondering this question, it really does sound reasonable. After years of living… after decades of devastating heartbreak and overwhelming joy. Upon wading through flood after flood of endless drama, undeniable pain, crippling hardships, true love and tragic loss… after witnessing life begin, and watching death rip it away… and enduring everything, both big and small, floating in between… it makes sense that we would become hardened. Our emotions completely callused over until they have become all but forgotten… buried just beneath the surface and hidden away like an old photograph we can no longer bear to see.

But, in fact the complete opposite is true… we do not stop feeling because we have grown so tired of the nonsense, the lies, the heartbreak and the pain. No… the true fact is that our feelings become more raw… more exposed over time, like the thirsty roots of an old tree pushing and driving themselves toward the surface.

So the answer is “NO”… we’re never too old for the bullshit. We continue to live… to breathe… to feel until the last breath escapes our lips. Life is continuous… and so are our emotions, growing ever more real and intense over time. We are, and always will be, human.

~ Alethea J Salazar © 2018