Maturity

Nothing like some Tool in my headphones for a cool morning jog. It's one of the only times in the day that I have all to myself. As I was running I was feeling exactly like myself... like I have always felt. The saying "inside every old person is a young person wondering what the hell happened" came to mind. I'm not old by any means, though that term is certainly relative (for example, my step kids probably think I seem pretty old especially when I'm grumpy). Anyway, I was struck by the difference between the soul and the body. The body changes but the soul remains the same.

When my son was born I was struck by how BIG his presence was despite his tiny baby body. His spirit is still huge while his body tries to catch up (which it will never do- the spirit is never contained completely within the walls of our body). Maybe life is just an attempt to create vessels expansive enough to house our spirits. Or maybe not. I know my body is changing.

I don't get carded anymore when I go to the liquor store. But my internal age hasn't changed one bit. Makes me wonder about maturity and what it really is. Is being "mature" learning how to follow society's rules? Learning how to conduct yourself properly in groups and in relationships? Learning how to eat the right things and say the right things... you get my point.

What makes a child or a person immature? Childlike behavior? Refusal to take responsibility? Or, inability to step up to the plate, so to speak? Sometimes I'm accused of being too serious. Does that make me more mature than someone who takes things lightly and jokes around a lot? Is my son immature because he still behaves like a 4 yr old sometimes at his ripe old age of 6? Is my husband immature because he is clearly a 15 yr old trapped in a 39 yr old body? Most people would say so. But I question the whole idea of maturity.

If maturity is what most people around me display on a daily basis I will gladly do without it.