• Smoogs@lemmy.world
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    29 days ago

    The saddest I’ve seen is a 70 yr old “from a different era” who had to now learn how to make macaroni with cheese for the first time in his life because his partner passed away.

    That’s where I think shit has gone really wrong for way too long when trying to adult. Like prepare that you may have to live alone for at least a portion of your life and be the type of person you can stand to be around alone.

    • bluewing@lemm.ee
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      28 days ago

      As a person is less than a handful of years away from being 70 myself, that person’s problem wasn’t in “being from a different era.” But rather deciding, whether conscious or not, to be passive in life and refusing to learn new things. A a vast number of all of you out there suffer from the same problem. Like expecting someone else to make the macaroni and cheese for you rather than learning how to do it yourself. Many people expect someone else to solve all their problems for them. And then are shocked and surprised when that doesn’t happen as they get older. I learned from my elders on how to solve my own problems. Sometimes by teaching, sometimes by letting me fail and then learning from fixing the problem I had created for myself.

      They taught me everything from how to forage the forest, hunt, fish, raise livestock and butcher it, grow a garden, make soap from scratch, repair large and complex machines and many other skills that few can do these days. Most important of all, they taught me that learning never ends. And the day it does, you are dead.

      Being alone with myself is dangerous for me because I prefer being alone these days. After a lifetime of being the cavalry coming over the hill to save the day, I’m burnt out and tired of it. I just want to spend my remaining time alone to heal from all the stupid I had to try and fix.

      • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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        28 days ago

        I understand what you are saying and sorry if I made it seem ‘different era ‘ was the excuse I was giving it. It is a common excuse the passives give about their inability to come to their own rescue or take any initiative when it comes to themselves. It doesn’t help that others who are younger also promote the excuse that it’s ’the era they are from’

        • bluewing@lemm.ee
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          27 days ago

          It’s OK, I know I also sounded cranky in my reply. I just wanted to warn people who might read my words to understand the importance of learning. As I said, the learning never stops. Because when it does stop, you are dead.

          So learn new things as often as possible. Keep your mind sharp and make it sharper as your body ages and starts to fail.