In today’s youth-obsessed society, many attempt to stop the clock on the aging process. We see advertisements for all sorts of beauty creams to prevent wrinkles, products to color hair, gyms and exercise programs to keep us strong, and all sorts of anti-aging supplements, including one to stop telemeres in our DNA from shortening.
So we have the recent romantic fantasy film, The Age of Adaline, in which the main character, a young widow and single mother, has a freak accident in 1937 and never ages another day.
Is she happy about this? No, she lives her life as much under the radar as possible.
She escapes at the age of 45 from curious government agents who try to take her away for testing; thereafter she takes a new identity every ten years, makes only short-term friends who won’t learn her “secret,” avoids love affairs, except for one big mistake, and takes a succession of springer spaniels as her companions.
Born in 1908, we meet her in the present at age 107 ... looking fabulous in her Lauren Bacall/Veronica Lake hair and vintage clothing. We also are privy to a conversation between Adaline and her now 82-year old daughter, who is concerned with assisted living, hip replacements and other such aspects of aging. These, of course, don’t concern Adaline, but her overall demeanor is one of sadness and melancholy.
I won’t spoil the story, except to say that it has a happy ending when she discovers her first gray hair.
My initial reaction to the film was: what total mis-mangement of the gift of youth.
Granted, it would be very challenging to see those around you grow old and die, to realize you’re different, very different, from the rest of humanity, to find yourself isolated and alone.
But also, could there be an upside? Being healthy, vigorous, and strong as the years pass, without the decrepitude of aging. Could there be opportunities for fantastic personal and spiritual growth, for incredible learning, mastery of all sorts of skills, and extensive travels, experiences and relationships that we could never fit in one lifetime?
I was reminded of a book I read years ago...My First Two Thousand Years, The Autobiography of the Wandering Jew. The main character, Isaac Laquedem, hatefully mocks Jesus on the way to crucifixion and death. Jesus, in a blaze of anger, declares; “I will go, but thou shalt tarry until I return!”
And that’s what happened. Isaac tarries, remaining ageless while all around him people passed into history. Along the way he meets many now-famous persons, has fantastic experiences, and influences any number of important historical events.
All in all, it is a rousing trip through the past two thousand years, up to the point where the curse may be released as he confesses his story, under psychoanalysis, in a monastery in 1928. His chronicle, said one of the listeners, is the history of human passion; it sheds new and colorful light on religion, sex, morality, occultism, rejuvenation, reincarnation, and more.
One thing of note that Isaac discovered, and that I saw no hint of in Adaline’s story: “It is not enough to live. One must find a purpose, a reason for existence... What did I desire? What purpose could I make my own?” he asks, as he sets forth to conquer ennui, and other challenges of human life.
That’s the question for all of us, regardless of the number of years we are granted, or the number of challenges we face. What purpose can we make our own? How can we make the most of the present moment, be here NOW, and truly enjoy this gift of life?
And so it is.
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