Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese.

When the actress Billie Burke, known for her grace and wit, once said, “Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese,” she spoke a truth wrapped in laughter — a truth that has outlived her time upon the stage. Beneath her humor lies a profound wisdom: that age, which so many fear and measure, is but a shadow illusion cast by the ticking of the clock. The worth of a human soul cannot be aged like a wheel of cheese, for the heart does not curdle with time; it ripens with experience, it deepens with love, it expands with the wisdom of living. Burke’s jest is a gentle rebellion against the tyranny of numbers, and a call to remember that life’s vitality is measured not in years, but in spirit.

To say that age is of no importance is to defy the world’s obsession with youth and decay. In every era, humanity has trembled before the passing of time, mistaking change for decline. But the wise have always known that age is not a falling away, but a transformation. A river does not lose its essence as it winds toward the sea; it becomes broader, deeper, more powerful. So too does the human spirit, if it refuses to bow to fear. Burke’s words remind us that the greatest aging is not of the body, but of the imagination. When the soul remains curious, grateful, and alive to wonder, it transcends the boundaries of time itself.

Consider the story of Sophocles, the Greek playwright who, in his nineties, was accused by his sons of madness for continuing to write. To prove his clarity, he recited lines from his newest tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus — verses so full of dignity and vision that his accusers fell silent. Here was a man who, by worldly standards, should have been feeble, yet his mind blazed brighter than ever. His age was not his weakness but his triumph. His art was not diminished by the years; it was sanctified by them. Such is the message hidden in Burke’s laughter: that the passage of time refines those who keep their inner fire alight.

Burke herself was no stranger to the changing seasons of fame and fortune. Once adored as a youthful beauty of the stage and screen, she later became beloved as Glinda, the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, a role she played with the serene joy of a woman who had made peace with her years. In her, we see a life that flowed gracefully between decades — unafraid of the transformations that others resist. Her humor about age was not denial, but acceptance with elegance. It was the laughter of one who had lived fully and understood that what truly endures is the radiance of personality, not the perfection of youth.

In her quip lies also a quiet defiance against a culture that worships youth as though it were eternal. The ancients, however, knew better. They revered the elders not for beauty of form, but for beauty of soul. The aged were the keepers of memory, the voices of counsel, the living link between generations. To dismiss age, they believed, was to sever oneself from wisdom. Yet Burke’s saying is not to mock age, but to liberate it from the weight of comparison — to remind us that growing older is not the loss of value, but the shedding of illusions.

Thus, her wisdom speaks across centuries: time does not define worth. What matters is whether the flame within continues to burn. The body may tire, the face may change, but the heart can remain untamed, radiant, mischievous — forever young in courage and in love. The great Leonardo da Vinci painted and invented until his dying days; the poet Goethe completed Faust at eighty. These were souls who understood that the only true decay is the decay of purpose.

So, O seeker of wisdom, learn this from Billie Burke: laugh at the ticking of the clock. Let your humor guard your spirit from despair. Do not count your years; count your passions. Do not measure your worth in youth, but in the fullness of your being. Cherish your memories, but never let them chain you to the past. Every age holds its own splendor if you meet it with curiosity, grace, and courage.

Thus, the teaching endures: age is no burden — it is a blessing disguised as time. It is the proof that you have lived, learned, and loved. Only those who stop living before life is done grow old; the rest, like Billie Burke, remain timeless, their laughter echoing across generations — a reminder that the heart, unlike cheese, does not spoil with age, but matures into wisdom’s finest wine.