We're often told how we're meant to feel about ageing, positive or neutral. But talking about why it's complicated can help us to work out how we want to feel about it.
The idea that there is a linear order to things is embedded in schooling. Do this and it will lead to that. Not only is it at odds with how life actually works (new babies quickly dispel our illusions that progress is linear!) but holding tightly to this sense of order carries its own dangers.