“I don’t think age is a problem,” says MMA fighter

I’m sitting here in the hospital with my 12-year-old son, who, thankfully, is doing better after 8 miserable days. Wait! We’re on day 9, I’m losing count. Being a parent can be so scary. My decision-making process when it comes to my children is different than it is when I’m making choices for myself. I worry about setting the appropriate tone of resilience and rational thinking while at the same time trying to make sure that nothing bad will happen to them—ever! It’s an impossible task, and I’m sure I am not the first parent who has tried to walk that fine line.

In the context of my current environment, I ran across the above quote by Zhang Lipeng. I was not previously familiar with this MMA fighter, known as the “The Warrior,” but his words caught my attention, nonetheless. I have been writing a lot lately about aging (here, here, and here), and how I am trying to find a path forward in this body that continually reminds me of the changing seasons. As I watch my young son (who is at such a critical, vulnerable age) try to navigate a health scare, I am left with the strange reminder that life is constantly about change, and my son is trying to pilot his way through many age-related changes as well.

As they say, the more things change…

This is not the first time I have walked this walk with him in the hospital trying to decipher bizarre symptoms. We were here at the age of 4 as well, although his response to things he did not like then included a lot of tears and just angry refusal to cooperate. Now, I can see the young man he is trying to become, as he attempts to maintain dignity in a place that leaves you with none. It brings me back to the quote: “I don’t think age is a problem.” Of course, Lipeng just means that his experience will give him the edge over his more youthful opponent. Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s not. That will be decided on the mat. I think it is a wider question for all of us, though—myself and my son alike.

Age really is not the problem (is it?)

Like so many things in life that are out of our control, we are left with how we respond to our circumstances, whatever they may be. Philippians 4:6 reads: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” My children mean everything, but times like this remind me that there is very little that is really in my control. That is a hard thing to accept at any age, especially when the stakes feel so high. Nonetheless, I rest in the reminder to be anxious about nothing, and if I try really hard, maybe I can apply it to my own future as well as that of my children.

Back to martial arts…

How is any of this remotely relevant to an MMA fight that I may or may not watch? I become more aware of the passage of time every day, and the struggle to figure out a whole new stage of life is real. It is good for me to remember that it is not the first time I have been in a transitional phase, nor will it likely be the last… and my children will pave their own paths full of their own phases. One of the most important lessons learned through practicing martial arts, in my opinion, is how to be resilient and persevere. Age is not the problem unless we make it so.