How Awake are We?

 

Ageing Is Inevitable; Decaying is not! - Maturity Is a Choice.

One of the most misunderstood ideas in life is the difference between ageing and maturity. Many of us assume that as we grow older, we naturally become wiser and more mature. However, the reality is, almost always, the opposite.  

Ageing is biological—a process that happens to every living body. From the moment we're born, we’re on a journey towards becoming old. It happens without any effort from our side. It’s passive. Time moves, the body changes, and age catches up.

Maturity, on the other hand, is not automatic. It’s not guaranteed by the number of years we have lived. Maturity is an inner evolution. It’s a product of conscious living, of being present in our experiences.

We can go through life in two ways:

• Unaware, as if hypnotised—merely reacting to events, happening in our life, without truly experiencing them. Things keep happening to us, but we remain to be absent. The events pass through us, leaving no mark/ impact, us failing to learn from the lessons evolve out of the events etc., We might remember the events, but they don’t become part of our wisdom. They say, we all learn from our mistakes. We do not have enough life to make all the mistakes and learn. So, we have to learn from others mistakes too! Alas! we do not do that. That’s just ageing.

• Aware, with mindfulness and presence—when you fully live each moment, reflect on it, and extract meaning from it. You become a participant, not just a passenger. That’s how maturity is born.

Every emotion, every experience—joy, sadness, anger, love—can be a teacher, but only when we’re attentive. Take anger, for example. If we keep getting angry over the same things, making the same promises to change but falling back into the same patterns, that’s just killing the time. That’s ageing.

But if we truly experience anger with full awareness, we begin to see its futility. We understand how it poisons our peace and harms others. That moment of clarity becomes transformative. Next time, we respond differently—not because we forced yourself, but because something in us has shifted.

Maturity doesn’t need resolutions. It doesn’t need us to vow, “I’ll never do that again.” When we live with awareness, each day shapes the next. The way we live today decides who we become tomorrow.

In short:

Ageing is inevitable. Maturity is intentional.

Ageing adds years to our life. Maturity adds depth to our soul.

Here comes the real question: No, it isn’t how old are we but it is: 

How awake are we?

Osho...