--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Old age is another country, a place of…" description: "\"Old age is another country, a place of strangeness, sometimes, and dislocation. There's a lot to be done in this country, and a great deal of pleasure ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/grace-paley-3243_age_old-age-is-another-country-a-place-of-st_1849510.png" --- # Old age is another country, a place of strangeness… ![“Old age is another country, a place of strangeness, sometimes, and dislocation. There's a lot to be done in this country, and a great deal of pleasure there. There are friends, some of whom are sick and needful of you, as you will be of them someday. The world itself is very beautiful. It's a…” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/grace-paley-3243_age_old-age-is-another-country-a-place-of-st_1849510.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/grace-paley-3243_age_old-age-is-another-country-a-place-of-st_1849510.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e08/grace-paley-3243_age_old-age-is-another-country-a-place-of-st_1849510.png) > “Old age is another country, a place of strangeness, sometimes, and dislocation. There's a lot to be done in this country, and a great deal of pleasure there. There are friends, some of whom are sick and needful of you, as you will be of them someday. The world itself is very beautiful. It's a place where you have a lot to do. But you have to do it knowing that sometimes you will be afraid of this new country.” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging feels like entering an unfamiliar land, full of challenges, responsibilities, and unexpected joys **In simple terms:** Growing older is both strange and rewarding Key Takeaway Embrace change and care for others as you age Themes aging loneliness community Mood reflective bittersweet Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family caregiving - volunteering - travel in later life - reflective writing Key Concepts mortality interdependence beauty of life Questions to Reflect On - How can society better support the elderly? - What personal rituals help you navigate aging? A Different Perspective Physical decline can limit participation and cause isolation ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Dislocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dislocation/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Strangeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strangeness/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Genius has no age, no country, no race; it belongs to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/genius-has-no-age-no-country-no-race-it-belongs-to-mankind/) [Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/) > [No man can quite emancipate himself from his age and country, or produce a model in which the education, the religion, the politics, usages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-quite-emancipate-himself-from-his-age-and-country-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The more people that are afraid when they see new creation, the happier I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rei-kawakubo/the-more-people-that-are-afraid-when-they-see-new-creation-the/) [Rei Kawakubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rei-kawakubo/) > [You must never be afraid in New York City, because then you will call bad stuff to you and you will not like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/you-must-never-be-afraid-in-new-york-city-because-then-you-will-call/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [I was afraid New York was going to become boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/i-was-afraid-new-york-was-going-to-become-boring/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) > [Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the titanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-be-afraid-to-do-something-new-remember-amateurs-built-the-ark/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't be afraid to be the new kid on the block. Pay attention and respect the more seasoned writers around you, but when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-lewandowski/don-t-be-afraid-to-be-the-new-kid-on-the-block-pay-attention-and/) L.A. Lewandowski > [We should not be afraid to go into a new era, to leave the old beyond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-should-not-be-afraid-to-go-into-a-new-era-to-leave-the-old-beyond/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't be afraid of new ideas. Be afraid of old ideas. 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Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-m-not-afraid-of-new-things-i-m-just-afraid-of-feeling-alone-even/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Brother, these last two months I've found in myself a new man. A new man has risen up in me. He was hidden in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/brother-these-last-two-months-i-ve-found-in-myself-a-new-man-a-new/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [God is not afraid of new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-is-not-afraid-of-new-things/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Therefore we have to go over the fact that all human beings are afraid by what is new. It is our work to convince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/therefore-we-have-to-go-over-the-fact-that-all-human-beings-are/) [Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/) ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Old age is another country, a place of strangeness, sometimes, and dislocation. There's a lot to be done in this country, and a great deal of pleasure there. There are friends, some of whom are sick and needful of you, as you will be of them someday. The world itself is very beautiful. It's a place where you have a lot to do. 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