This is something that many authors, including Jorge Bucay, emphasize about this stage of life, when we start shedding off our masks. When one turns 60, these masks no longer become pretentious; they become burdensome. One does not need to hold their breath in order to seem slimmer or cover their past experiences in order to make themselves look good.
This also changes everything about what one is looking for in a partner.
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1. Companionship that doesn’t cling
The concept of “togetherness” for young people is often associated with that of “dependence.” This is because young people are just beginning their lives together by combining their resources and having children. But after reaching the age of 60, one has usually managed to learn to be independent. One might even have enjoyed this freedom from the clutches of dependence.
This is why companionship assumes a new meaning altogether after a person has passed the age of 60. Companionship becomes something more than merely someone who completes a person’s existence or keeps him alive; it becomes a matter of choice.
Here’s how I look at it: it’s the difference between handcuffing yourselves together versus simply walking down the same path together. Both of you are individuals. Neither of you require endless interaction or attention or is forced to speak at all times. Because honestly? There is something profoundly beautiful about “comfortable silence.” This is the silence when you both sit in the same room, reading separate books but feeling that presence beside you. It’s this comfortable walk when there is no need for unnecessary sound filling up the environment. It is simply having your partner beside you while enjoying the meal in total quietness. This does not require any exertion but merely a comfortability. At this stage of their life, if the relationship feels too much like hard work, the vast majority of men will leave.
