Tir na Nog.

I've noticed myself starting to go grey,  Scream and dull thud as Servus collapses on the floor, gibbering in horror of full blown mid-life crisis!!!!  Nah! can't be bothered with all that self-analytical navel gazing.
But why does it matter to so many?
It used to be the case that women dyed their hair to hide grey,to maintain that look. Now every time I flick on the google box I see men desperately lathering themselves in hair dye, age defying cream (at last we can control the space time continuum!!) and other concoctions. Don't get me started on cosmetic surgery
 What happened to growing old gracefully?
It used to be the case that the elderly were treated with respect since they were valued for their wisdom, now advancing years is seen as the ultimate sin, remain youthful for as long as possible, experience all that you can. Wisdom has taken a back seat to subjective feelings and sense impressions. Fleeting, impulsive, non-commital and usually with a price tag attached. There are no lessons to be learnt, no knowledge to be passed on, too busy feeling and being.  And if you get too old to be economically viable or socially appropriate well there is always the elderly homes or better still .... when quality of life is diminished. ( quality now there is a deliberately vague word.)
Yet perhaps under this layer, lies another more subconcious issue that is being expressed.
If God has been banished, what comes next?
If the eternal is absent, age begins to assume a dreadful finality.
Stay young, defy age for afterwards there is only  oblivion.
That perhaps is one reason why the elderly are not as valued as they once were, they visibly remind us of our mortality and what lies beyond that door. And if God ain't the doorman....?