Growing Old

"Rabbi Shimon ben Akashya says that elderly people who are ignorant of Torah become more disoriented as they age. But elderly Torah scholars are not so. On the contrary – as they grow older, their minds become more and more stable..." (mishna at the very end of Tractate Kinim). Why is that so? A person who is “immersed” in this world and enjoys “everything” that this world has to offer is at the prime of his life in his youth. His youth affords him to take advantage of everything that this world has to offer. As he gets older, he is able to do less, he becomes increasingly more frustrated. A Tzaddik, has been working tirelessly his whole life. Every day is a struggle, so the older he gets, the closer he is to the next world. He is closer to getting his reward in Olam Habah. For him, he is moving closer to the “prime” of his life in the next world, which is right after death in this world.