Readers have responded warmly to Moya Sarner's recent article on the importance of growing up, not just growing older. One correspondent from Dunmurry, Belfast, a trainee psychotherapist, agrees that resisting the natural passage of time often leads to less contentment. They argue that real growth involves evolving into deeper, more authentic versions of ourselves, and that no shortcut can replace the emotional, spiritual and psychological work of maturation.
A reader from Port Macquarie, Australia, reflects on turning 70, noting that while quantum physics suggests all time exists at once, for humans ageing is a tangible journey. They quote Tom Waits and T.S. Eliot to illustrate that each life stage contains the previous ones, like rings in a tree. Another reader, now 82 and back in Cornwall after decades abroad, feels no different emotionally or spiritually than at 32, despite physical limitations. They advise savouring memories and enjoying the present.
A mother from Essex shares the bittersweet experience of watching a child grow up, describing the term 'empty nest' as insufficient. She still misses the childhood rituals that vanished after her daughter turned 11, echoing Sarner's theme of acknowledging loss while celebrating independence. The letters collectively affirm that accepting ageing brings a paradoxical freedom, as one writer notes: 'All that you've loved is all you own.'
