--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Aging does that; it makes you amenable to…" description: "\"“Aging does that; it makes you amenable to far more ambiguous feelings and opinions than the inflexible black-and-white thinking of youth.”\" — Kathleen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/kathleen-tessaro-8887_youth_aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to_1544024.jpg" --- # Aging does that; it makes you amenable to far more… ![“Aging does that; it makes you amenable to far more ambiguous feelings and opinions than the inflexible black-and-white thinking of youth.” quote by Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/kathleen-tessaro-8887_youth_aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to_1544024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/kathleen-tessaro-8887_youth_aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to_1544024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/kathleen-tessaro-8887_youth_aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to_1544024.jpg) > ““Aging does that; it makes you amenable to far more ambiguous feelings and opinions than the inflexible black-and-white thinking of youth.”” [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging softens rigid thinking, allowing nuanced emotions and perspectives. **In simple terms:** Aging brings flexibility in feelings and thoughts. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity as you age. Themes growth empathy perspective aging Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - career decisions - political discourse - artistic expression Key Concepts psychology developmental change cognitive flexibility Questions to Reflect On - How has your perspective shifted with age? - What ambiguous feelings do you now accept? A Different Perspective Older adults may still cling to binary views. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Aging does not need to be hidden or denied, but can be understood, affirmed and experienced as a process of growth by which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/aging-does-not-need-to-be-hidden-or-denied-but-can-be-understood/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [All would live long, but none would be old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/all-would-live-long-but-none-would-be-old/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Many many people find themselves wondering in their 40s and 50s, is this all there is?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/many-many-people-find-themselves-wondering-in-their-40s-and-50s-is/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“In many ways, aging well is about learning to let go of earthly things and clinging to God alone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-buchanan/in-many-ways-aging-well-is-about-learning-to-let-go-of-earthly-things/) Missy Buchanan > [Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/grow-old-along-with-me-the-best-is-yet-to-be-the-last-of-life-for/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [On the neck of the young man sparkles no gem so gracious as enterprise. Youth condemns; maturity condones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lowell/on-the-neck-of-the-young-man-sparkles-no-gem-so-gracious-as/) [Amy Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lowell/) > [So you see, old age is really not so bad. May you come to know the condition!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/so-you-see-old-age-is-really-not-so-bad-may-you-come-to-know-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-bisset/character-contributes-to-beauty-it-fortifies-a-woman-as-her-youth/) [Jacqueline Bisset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-bisset/) > [The only people who grow old were born old to begin with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-sherwood/the-only-people-who-grow-old-were-born-old-to-begin-with/) [Robert E. Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-sherwood/) > [“The young man pities his elders, fearing the day he, too, will join their ranks. The elderly man pities the younger generation, well-knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-i-fisher/the-young-man-pities-his-elders-fearing-the-day-he-too-will-join/) [Lynda I Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-i-fisher/) > [Remember that the progress of the world depends on your knowing better than your elders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/remember-that-the-progress-of-the-world-depends-on-your-knowing/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [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/) > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) ## More by Kathleen Tessaro > [“Mass was like grand opera, a magic show with the most expensive props in town. And faith, a sleight of hand trick, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/mass-was-like-grand-opera-a-magic-show-with-the-most-expensive-props/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“To me, chance isn't random. The universe is bound by unseen threads. We have only to untangle them a little to see a pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/to-me-chance-isn-t-random-the-universe-is-bound-by-unseen-threads-we/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I want to go to a café and sit with you. I want you to order something I've never eaten before and tease me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-want-to-go-to-a-caf-and-sit-with-you-i-want-you-to-order-something/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [My husband claims I have an unhealthy obsession with secondhand bookshops. That I spend too much time daydreaming altogether. But either you intrinsically understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/my-husband-claims-i-have-an-unhealthy-obsession-with-secondhand/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I'm going to tell you something that no magazine or novel or television show will ever let on. Love wears you down. We think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-m-going-to-tell-you-something-that-no-magazine-or-novel-or/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“There is nothing more difficult than simplicity,’ Madame”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-than-simplicity-madame/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I’d like to live in great comfort. And peace.’ And then she added, quite to her surprise, ‘With no one to tell me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-d-like-to-live-in-great-comfort-and-peace-and-then-she-added-quite/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“I believe it’s a privilege, madam. One that’s earned through a certain amount of courage and adversity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/i-believe-it-s-a-privilege-madam-one-that-s-earned-through-a-certain/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Paulette shook her head and sighed. In her world Grace had failed to meet the responsibility of her own beauty. This was not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/paulette-shook-her-head-and-sighed-in-her-world-grace-had-failed-to/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“He was uncannily skilled at dissecting hidden meaning behind every interaction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/he-was-uncannily-skilled-at-dissecting-hidden-meaning-behind-every/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Likewise, while the men and women were no more naturally attractive than their English counterparts, they dressed with an assurance and attention to detail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/likewise-while-the-men-and-women-were-no-more-naturally-attractive/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Around her the tables were filling with people, tourists planning their next stop over a coffee, businessmen meeting for luncheon, well-heeled women taking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/around-her-the-tables-were-filling-with-people-tourists-planning/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Are we at war with fate?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/are-we-at-war-with-fate/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“Smells are custodians of memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/smells-are-custodians-of-memories/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [“In every book she’d ever read, the heroine was subject to self-doubt and unjust criticism. And in every case, it only served to harden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/in-every-book-she-d-ever-read-the-heroine-was-subject-to-self-doubt/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) [Explore all 76 Kathleen Tessaro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) ## More Aging quotes > [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/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Aging does that; it makes you amenable to far more ambiguous feelings and opinions than the inflexible black-and-white thinking of youth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathleen Tessaro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to-far-more-ambiguous-feelings/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to-far-more-ambiguous-feelings/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/kathleen-tessaro-8887_youth_aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to_1544024.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/kathleen-tessaro-8887_youth_aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to_1544024.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/358/kathleen-tessaro-8887_youth_aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to_1544024.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Aging does that; it makes you amenable to far more ambiguous feelings and opinions than the inflexible…” — Kathleen Tessaro", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kathleen Tessaro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Aging does that; it makes you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to-far-more-ambiguous-feelings/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/aging-does-that-it-makes-you-amenable-to-far-more-ambiguous-feelings/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```