"A man growing old becomes a child again"

As age progresses, the boundaries between youth and old age begin to blur, revealing surprising similarities between the two. When a man grows old, he often returns to a state reminiscent of childhood, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. Physical strength wanes, agility diminishes, and the senses may dull, mirroring the initial weaknesses and vulnerabilities of a child. With diminished energy and frailty, an elderly person can become increasingly dependent on others for daily life, requiring assistance, comfort, and understanding, much like a child does for survival and development.

Beyond the body, the mind too may travel back in time. With the fading of memory, mental sharpness, or even the onset of cognitive decline such as dementia, the elderly may experience confusion, forgetfulness, and a reduced grasp on reality. This can bring about a simplicity in thought and perspective, akin to the candor and innocence often seen in children. Emotions may become more immediate, responses less filtered, and desires more basic, favoring warmth, tenderness, and security above all else. At times, the elderly adopt a curiosity about the world that resembles a child’s wonder, perhaps because the world begins to feel unfamiliar once more.

Socially, the aged often seek company, affection, and reassurance, much as children do, desiring to stave off loneliness and isolation. In their advanced years, individuals may come to rely heavily on familial bonds, seeking the care of those who once depended on them. The cyclical nature of life emphasizes that the journey from infancy to maturity and back toward dependence is a natural, universal process. The return to a childlike state is not a regression to something lesser but a movement through the stages of human experience, inviting compassion, patience, and respect from others. Aging, therefore, becomes not merely an ending, but a return to the beginning.