Such controversial statements make my blood boil at times. More so because I think there is truth and validity in such statements that I don’t want to acknowledge since it sounds subjective. I have spent my life growing in all facets of life – body, mind, heart, soul, intellect, education, experience, street smarts, book smarts, business smarts, etc., and the growth goes on. BUT WHY do I feel like growing up also means growing irrelevant to what is coming up behind you? The questions that rack my brain are continuous a sounding board of determination and frustration. Why do I see things through the eyes of a wise and experienced person, only to see that all things that I have been preparing for seem irrelevant and secondary to what is actually important for true understanding and growth in life?

What is growth that the media hasn’t torn apart from a billion different controversies or opinions, yes there are different perspectives, always will be, but growth is what we used to call progress. Remember, we talked about how to progress through the stages of life, businesses, innovation, etc. Oh yes, the significance of such progress was the way of life. Now it is called growth, and growth is something we all can do and achieve in our own ways, with our own goals, and successes (we could progress but honestly sounds like just transitioning not living). This is how I believe we stand here today – has my growth taken me through a different dimension that does not apply to all the other aspects of life (outside myself)? Is this true nirvana or just an illusion for self-preservation? Since irrelevancy can be construed as an ego thing, since being irrelevant means not being connected to something, then wouldn’t it mean I, you, or we are not connected to things outside our own doing? Could such beauty exist or is that too bold to state? Does that make me or you selfish for wanting everything else to be irrelevant to us – as opposed to us being irrelevant in general?

I seek validation, verification, and understanding of such a simple, yet profound, view that gives me a better vantage point about whether my growth has all the right context for gaining a more fulfilled and rewarding life. Of course, I FEEL like it has been (therefore it is), especially inside my house and world, but when I step outside to the worlds around me I notice that I don’t feel relevant, or maybe I don’t want to, to what is changing or growing around me. Does that mean I need to continue to change (not necessarily grow) to stay relevant and validated in today’s society? Or is there something else that may be causing my mental transformation about growth and life? Or do I need to choose to be part of society’s view that my only true worth is being validated by others – who are not relevant to me? I truly believe that growth is essential to a rewarding life, growth is the key to many important and insightful views about oneself and life in general. I just want to know if growing up, yes – in light of the aging factor, is a sign of seeing the significance of what growth gives to us more than wrinkles and cellulite, but provides us the ability to see, know, and rise above the irrelevancy of our contributions. What do you see and feel about growing up?