Maturity is not merely the accumulation of years, but the accumulation of perspective. It is the transition from the frantic "doing" of early life to the resonant "being" of the later years. In this stage, the ego—once a loud, demanding architect—quietly retires. One begins to understand that the self is not a fortress to be defended, but a landscape to be tended. This maturity brings a certain density of character; like old-growth timber, the grain is tighter, the wood is harder, and the roots reach into depths that the sapling cannot fathom.
Accepting that we are small players in a vast, unknowable cosmos. mature old wide open
When a person is wide open, they no longer fear being "filled" or "emptied" by life. They become a conduit. Joy enters and leaves; sorrow enters and leaves. Nothing is stuck because there are no closed doors to trap the energy. Maturity is not merely the accumulation of years,
The Wide Open: A Meditation on Maturity and the Architecture of Time One begins to understand that the self is