"Aging seems to be the only available way to live a long life"

Aging is often approached with apprehension, as it signifies the passage of time and the inevitable changes that come with growing older. Many people search for ways to delay or even escape the aging process, associating youth with vitality and possibility, and old age with decline and limitation. However, the underlying truth humorously and poignantly noted by Kitty O’Neill Collins is that to desire a long life necessarily means embracing the very process of aging that so many wish to avoid.

Each additional year lived is both a continuation of life and a step into older age. The fact that time passes and bodies age is inseparable from the privilege of being alive long enough to experience those changes. Every wrinkle, grey hair, or birthday celebrated is both a marker of aging and a testament to survival and endurance. The alternative to aging, ceasing to exist, is far less desirable. The statement encapsulates a kind of practical wisdom: longevity and aging are entwined, not adversaries but partners.

The perspective challenges the cultural attitudes that often idolize youth and dismiss the value of age. Instead, it reframes the process of growing older as a victory, a badge earned through enduring life’s challenges and joys. Rather than fearing or resenting the signs of aging, perhaps they should be seen as evidence of continued opportunity, growth, and experience.

Moreover, the phrase carries a gentle irony, highlighting the paradox at the heart of human attitudes towards aging and mortality. The only way to fulfill the wish for a long life is to participate fully in the process of aging, to accept its gifts as well as its limitations. There is liberation in this acceptance, an invitation to live each stage of life fully, recognizing that the alternative to aging is, ultimately, no life at all.