We live in an age that stresses personal goals, careers, happiness, work and religion. The emphasis is on the individual and how best that individual can satisfy himself.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The present times require the vigor and the activity of the prime of life; but I feel the increasing infirmities of age to such a degree, that I am conscious I cannot serve you to advantage.
The hallmark of our age is the tension between aspirations and sluggish institutions.
As we get older, we get better at choosing in ways that will make us happy. We do a better job at picking activities that make us happy, and at spending time with people who make us happy. We're also better at letting things go.
So far as we live and strive at all, our lives are various, are needed for the whole, and are unique.
People who have discovered a purpose feel better, like themselves more, age more subtly, and live longer.
We have a good life when we manage to live with both satisfied and unsatisfied needs, when we are not obsessed by what is beyond our reach.
For many of us, especially women, the gap between what we want or need and what our society expects of us is wide indeed, and we spend out lives trying to negotiate it. Trying to balance work and family, responsibilities and desires, all that stuff. It is not easy.
Why are young adults so self-centered and always seeking instant gratification? Because older adults, often in positions of power, paint them that way.
As unique as we all are, an awful lot of us want the same things. We want to shake up our current less-than-fulfilling lives. We want to be happier, more loving, forgiving and connected with the people around us.
Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age.