“Everything I know, in my bones, I learned the hard way.” ~ Dr. Judith Simmer-Brown

Recently, I looked up a dear old friend I’m out of touch with and saw news reports about him and his partner running a scam.

By the time we’re, say, 40, many of our dear friends growing up have made mistakes big or small, died in tragic accidents, divorced, been sued for doing bad things. A few have killed themselves. We ourselves have, of course, effed up 108 times (a day).

For those of you who are older, how do you get through the loss of clear-eyed innocence that happens in middle age?

Context: I had friends and folks I’d grown up with commit suicide and die in accidents when very young, and every decade, sadly. But it wasn’t until the last few years that I really felt some kind of clear view or positive outlook start to fade or disappear.

It’s not that everything was hunky dory for everyone I knew until I was 40. But it seems, now, that, similar to an old football or baseball player, there’s just nagging injuries and aches and bruises that never fully go away.

Image: Pixabay.