It’s Never Too Late To Grow

To express some opinions on the mechanism of human aging, the French biologist Jean Rostand began by saying: “A mature person, say a man of fifty years…” 

André Maurois, a French author, opined that the line of shadow in which one finds that the regions of youth are long behind them, should also be placed in the years close to fifty.

Many people have shown excellent achievements even after their fiftieth birthday. Below are a few examples of  outstanding accomplishments, but surely there have been many others that, without being so outstanding, were useful and carried out valuable work in their communities. 

Outstanding People In The Sciences

Louis Pasteur: French chemist and microbiologist. 

At the age of 51, Pasteur created a novel procedure to prevent the contamination of wines. At 57, he carried out the first important study related to vaccination. Then, at 63, Pasteur gained glory and fame for vaccinating a boy bitten by a rabid dog.

Barbara McClintock: American geneticist. 

At 81 years of age, McClintock received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine “for her discovery of mobile genetic elements.”

Outstanding People In The Arts

Walt Whitman: American writer. 

Expatriate American poet and critic, Ezra Pound, referred to Whitman as “America’s poet.”

Among his works are Democratic Vistas, which he wrote at age 52; Memoranda During the War, at age 57; and Specimen Days, written at age 63.

Tiziano Vecelli: Italian painter. 

At 54 years of age, Vecelli painted David and Goliath; St. John the Evangelist on Patmos at 59, Penitent Magdalene at 72; Danae Receiving the Golden Rain at 77, and Allegory of Prudence at 82.

Outstanding People In Sports

Min Bahadur Sherchan: Former Nepalese soldier. 

At age 76, Sherchan climbed Mount Everest (29,029 feet tall).

Diana Nyad: American swimmer. 

At 64, Nyad crossed the Florida Strait, between Cuba and Key West, after swimming for almost 53 hours without the protection of a shark cage.

The reason many people, like those previously mentioned and many others not included, have had achievements in their lives after reaching 50 years of age could be because they sought out an active exchange with the environment and everyone around them. They faced challenges, winning and losing, and took the initiative to be of service to their communities.

No one knows with certainty how long their career will last. In the state of nature, all ages must endure challenges. In the path of life, one must measure one’s own abilities, adopt new knowledge and skills, and set new goals to be in accordance with the present, and active in the society in which one lives; to build; to create; to feel fit and alive; with the right to act in the scene presented and play in the game offered; to learn and teach; to win and lose; to move on—until the end.