Nearing 70, the essential "me" feels like a young spirit trapped in a a slowly failing body--I wonder why?

Answer 1

Terry, you haven't actually addressed a question to us but I'll venture to say that I understand exactly what you feel. Our consciousness, soul, essential self, whatever you choose to call it is timeless and virtually ageless. It certainly doesn't seem to age at the same rate as the physical self, does it? I think it is because it isn't physical. There is no skin to sag, no organs to fail, no steps to slow down. I think that is why. If you feel trapped in the body you have, perhaps that's because there is something else you need to learn in this life before you leave it and your body behind.

Answer 2

That makes sense.

The body is just the temporary abode of the spirit. The journey and evolution of the soul goes on even when the body exhausts itself within the short span of a single lifetime.

Some of the desires or mental/emotional needs that the spirit came to fulfill may not be met by the time the body loses it's capacity to fill them. So the spirit feels hunger and zeal for life even as the body begins to fail.

Answer 3

I'm a little bit younger, but I know what you mean. But "trapped" isn't the word I'd use.

I've been stuck in a car that rolled over twice, and also in jail - those feel like "trapped."

But I've also had a dog. That's more what it's like to me. Your body doesn't obey all your commands, and it's sometimes not very smart, but it's still pretty good. That doesn't feel like "trapped."

As to the "young spirit" part: well, of course you are. Compared to a tree, or to a mountain, or to an ocean, you're just a kid.