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Growing old(er)

One of the pleasures of growing old(er) is that you care less what other people think (especially those outside your own circle). I noticed the other day on the train that whereas previously I tended to cover what I was reading with the book front cover facing inwards or downwards, now it is left facing upwards and outwards.

This is partly because you realise (as time proceeds) that 'surprisingly' you are not the centre of the universe (anyone's) and partly (as a corollary) because you find yourself comfortable in your own ego, it is more resilient, constructed from the within rather than from the outside. 

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