One of the nice things about getting older is that you come to

"One of the nice things about getting older is that you come to understand that you can integrate multiple aspects of your life together. When you're young, you think everything has to be binary, as that's exactly how you feel at that age." These words, spoken by Min Jin Lee, offer a profound reflection on the evolution of the human experience—particularly how age and wisdom shape our understanding of the world. In youth, we often see the world in stark contrasts, black and white, with no room for the shades of gray that come with lived experience. As Lee insightfully suggests, growing older allows us to understand the complexity of our lives and the interconnectedness of our identities, roles, and desires. Youth is often marked by an overwhelming desire for clarity, but with age comes the recognition that life is not a series of rigid categories, but a tapestry woven with varied threads of experience.

In the ancient world, the concept of integration—the bringing together of disparate aspects of one’s life—was not alien. Plato, in his writings, often discussed the need for balance and harmony in one’s soul. The philosophical life was not about separating the mind from the body or the intellectual from the emotional; it was about their unity in the pursuit of virtue and wisdom. Socrates famously claimed that the unexamined life was not worth living, but his journey was not about creating a binary between truth and falsehood. Instead, he sought the integration of various aspects of life—reason, emotion, and action—to live a full and virtuous life. Lee’s reflection mirrors this ancient wisdom, showing that the journey of self-discovery is one of synthesis, not division.

Consider the life of Aristotle, who, though young, was not bound by rigid binary categories of thought. Aristotle believed that virtue lay in moderation, the golden mean between excess and deficiency. For Aristotle, life was not about choosing one path at the expense of another, but about finding balance—the integration of various aspects of life, from work to play, from reason to emotion. As he aged, Aristotle deepened this understanding, seeing the interconnection between ethics, politics, and philosophy. For him, wisdom was not about holding to one fixed truth but about embracing the complex, integrated nature of human existence. Lee’s words echo Aristotle’s realization that with time comes the ability to see beyond simplistic binaries and into the complexity of existence.

Youth, however, is a time of extremes. It is marked by the search for identity, where everything feels like it must fit into a neatly defined box—good or bad, right or wrong, black or white. In the ancient rites of passage, youth was often celebrated as a time of intense emotional and physical energy, but also one of great confusion. The Romans understood the importance of these early years, for they were a time to form the character, and the belief was that one's ability to integrate the chaos of youth with the wisdom of age would determine the path to a balanced life. The journey from adolescence to adulthood was not about abandoning the energy of youth, but about learning to weave it into the broader fabric of life’s many experiences and responsibilities.

Look to the life of Mahatma Gandhi, whose path was one of integration from his early youth to his later years. In his youth, Gandhi, like many young men, sought clarity—he struggled with the challenges of his identity, his relationship to the world, and his beliefs. But as he matured, Gandhi came to understand that his journey was not a binary of Indian vs. British, or war vs. peace, but a complex dance of principle, action, and compassion. By integrating these aspects, Gandhi transformed from a young man seeking answers into a leader who brought together the fragmented parts of a nation, uniting people in the struggle for freedom and justice. His life demonstrates the wisdom that comes with age—the ability to transcend the binary and embrace a fuller, more harmonious existence.

And so, O children of wisdom, let us learn from the reflections of Min Jin Lee and the ancient sages. To grow is to integrate—to bring together the seemingly disparate parts of our lives into a whole. This is not an easy task, for youth’s instinct is to separate, to categorize, to define. Yet, the true wisdom of age lies in the ability to see the interconnectedness of all things. As we journey through life, let us learn not to cling to rigid divisions but to embrace the complexity of our existence. We are not simply one thing—a student or a worker, an artist or a parent—but all things, woven together in the rich tapestry of our being.

Let this lesson guide you: growth is not about choosing between opposites, but about integrating them into a unified life. Recognize that in youth, you are learning to build the framework, but in age, you will come to understand how to fill it with the richness of lived experience. The path of wisdom is one of balance, of bringing the fragmented parts of the self into harmony, and finding peace not in certainty, but in the fluidity of life. Embrace the complexity of existence, and recognize that the true power of age is the ability to see the world as a series of connected threads, each contributing to the greater whole of who you are.