“What profit hath a man for all his toil, in which he toils under the sun?”, expressing that the lives of both wise and foolish people all end in death.

I’m not about to dwell upon the obvious peculiarities of old age, like the daily handfuls of pills, that the bathroom is your favourite room in the house, that you cannot sleep soundly longer than two or three hours, that you can’t get out of bed before not less than nine hours, that your physical complaints cover endless biological issues. No, I’m talking about things like forgetting what you forgot to do when you initially remembered to do it.

Frank Sinatra gave old people an easy out when he compared old age to vintage wine that “pours sweet and clear”. While certainly far beyond prosaic, the poetic slant does indeed capture the elemental distillation that is old age. For whatever reason – perhaps no more than the natural effluxion of time – the unanticipated brevity of life ironically makes the whole more succinct.  We’re able to summarize the totality of our lives in smaller portions or themes, all of which appear to have been fleeting. The definition may be reduced to broad intervals such as growing up, working and now. The details evaporate.

Another coincidence of old age is the involuntary tendency to say what you mean. Gone are the reins of social convention. The simplification applies likewise to the choice of both people and foods. It isn’t just doing what you like; it’s avoiding what you don’t like.  One’s unprocessed persuasions are adopted as sufficient.

Speaking of which, the attraction of material goods swiftly reduces to the limited things you’ve always liked best. No longer do you feel compelled to experiment with alternate artwork or furnishings or automobiles or jewelry. It’s as though you suddenly reckon as appropriate what you have known all along. This promotes giving away stuff you’re certain you’ll never use again (things you’ve sheltered in dusty closets and unopened drawers).

The importance of dessert increases incrementally with age. There is no longer any sustainable utility to dieting or diet for that matter. I mean, what are we saving it for, the funeral? Indirectly it is this visceral abandon which propels one’s cerebral freedom and clarity. It is after all connected. Hence comes also a more abrupt measure of wisdom, no longer varnished with innuendo or complacency. It is this lucidity which is commonly dismissed as curmudgeonly behaviour because it putatively violates the pretence and absurdities of youth. Simple is best.

Fashion takes a big change with age. Except for extremely few people who are inextricably possessed by the yawn of appearance, the rest of us have opted instead for coziness and relaxation. The meaning of “comfortable shoes” takes on an atmospheric alteration (often admittedly hideous white sneakers). And talk about a closet full of clothes you’ll never wear again! Men begin to ponder what they have to wear when attending funerals – if indeed it is necessary to attend. I mean, the guy is gone so why bother?

With old age we preoccupy ourselves with who is going to get our stuff; that is, until we realize, why do we care? It’s then that the more immediate interest in our beneficiaries overtakes us as we contemplate the preference of seeing them enjoy it now when you can hear them say “Thanks!”

With old age we recognize the indisputable gratitude we owe to the one who has put up with us all these years. Suddenly their generosity and love approaches biblical boundaries.

Solomon (Ecclesiastes 12, King James Version) was either schizophrenic or a gambler.

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets

While Kohelet endorses wisdom as a means for a well-lived earthly life, he is unable to ascribe eternal meaning to it. In light of this perceived senselessness, he suggests that human beings should enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in one’s work, which are gifts from the hand of God.