Life Becomes an Atmosphere | A Story About Seriously Wanting to Become a Cute Old Lady

This is a story from when I worked at a counter for the elderly during my time as a civil servant.

An elderly woman living alone who suffered from dementia often came to consult with us.
Life holds many anxieties, not just the difficulties of daily living.
And that is even more true when you live alone.

Even so, she was always smiling.

"I've become confused again,"
"I came to ask,"
"Thank you for always helping me."

That is what she would say to us.

We staff members loved her dearly.

For some reason, whenever we talked with her, we felt calm and happy ourselves.

I often wondered,
"What kind of life has this person led?"
I thought.

It is not as if she had no anxieties.

There must surely be the pain of being able to do fewer and fewer things.

Even so, to be able to remain so gentle and pure, without becoming bitter and never forgetting to be grateful to those around her.

It might be disrespectful to someone older than me, but she was truly a lovely and charming person.

We often said, "I want to grow old like that."

It is different from youth or physical beauty.
It was a beauty where the person's very way of living seemed to seep out into an atmosphere.

Perhaps as people grow older, they become more "themselves."

The things we use to keep up appearances are gradually stripped away, and our true essence begins to show in our expressions and the air we carry.

That is why I
"want to become a cute old lady"
I truly think so.

That does not mean I want to look young.

To be able to be grateful to those around me.
To be able to remain honest.
To have an air that puts others at ease.

That is how I want to grow old.

Life surely becomes an atmosphere.

That is why I want to cherish the feelings with which I live right now.