John Darnielle on Aging

I’m over fifty. Being over fifty is miraculous. You get just a broader view on your previous iterations of yourself, and they all look like miserable failures. But I’m told that the next errand is to have pity on them. I don’t know about that. People think you should forgive them. I don’t expect to get there, but you at least get some perspective on your motivations. I think young people do practically everything out of fear, whether it’s fear of missing out, or fear of not becoming what you want to become, or fear of not getting away from what you want to get away from. If you keep working spiritually, you think, “Oh, wait, if I work and I’m able to provide for myself, what do I truly have to be afraid of?” Not so much. And, well, then you can approach something like freedom, I guess.

— John Darnielle, John Darnielle wants to tell you a story, New Yorker Magazine

The whole interview with John Darnielle is well worth a read but this bit hit me particularly hard.