observing aging

we all age. maturing is aging. (aging is not necessarily maturing.) writing this blog is aging. i hope it's also maturing. (i can't believe it's been four months since i first tried this.) but then there's the individual and the social. you can fight one - you can't fight the other.
there are great people out there in the world (in my world for sure). for years now i've been watching generations (try around six) make one of the greatest transitions in life - from scholar to professional. i don't think people have full appreciation for the difference that this step makes in life. you give up a lot of innocence and accept responsibilities, something that you will never get back (maybe in retirement?). things only get more complicated when you have children. so the question is how much to do you give in to the situation and how to what extent do you seize the reins. it's a time when you feel the pressure from your family (many if not most of my friends still live at home) and your own expectations, while on the other there is the boss and professional environment. not to mention your professional innocent self and the need for it to get up on its feet. so some people just lose it. it's one of those situations where you just don't know what to expect from a person. you have the easy-going people that cope great, and then you have the serious-organized type who just flop. and i'm there on the sidelines, having gone through that phase before most other people. no point screaming plays - it's an individual world out there. sharing views is as far as you can go.
there is that little trick you can do when you start hanging out with people that are younger. it's a great little trick. you manage to steal a few years. but the thing is that even the next generation ages, matures. then you're back to looking for the fitting crowd. in my case - the eternal adolescents. (it's a real shock when you see your younger crew searching out their own youngers.)
but then when the dust settles (by that time you're probably over 30) you can see who made which compromise. and you see that perhaps the people are more-less the same people that you've known for some time, but this transition has take its toll and the simple dynamics of how you spend time with them is probably changed for good. they've found their next niche. all i can do, having found my spot much earlier and not having allowed it to defined the way i communicate with people, is accept the fact. i mean, it's not that i haven't changed, but i've adapted to the surroundings. just a year ago i would spend one evening per week at home, not its more likely that i'll be going out once. and its not only me. its most people (or i've managed to lose all my friends in one go and all those different people/groups are meeting in secret behind my back.)
but then you have the sieve effect. you tossed a bunch of people in and then you find out that these acquaintances have stuck around, even when friends fell through. it's the world behind the mirror. its the Other piece/part/phase/sector/department of life. you get to meet new people who will excite you just like the first day of elementary school when you meet all those new kids. and if you like to play marbles you will suddenly find yourself playing marbles with someone you hadn't expected to. it might even be a girl! and if you are the crazy type you will see who the crazy people in life are. and you might do crazy things for many years to come. until perhaps some other phase in life comes.
it seems that that is the way it goes. this thing called life. aw, it's all just a big adventure. you've got to take is unseriously enough. don't look at me. i certainly don't take it seriously. but then i also sleep very well...