After 40, man’s problem takes more of the spiritual nature. The desire to discover who we are gets intensified. Before then, we are more concerned with the world, our place in it and protection of the self-image that we have created over the years so as to fit in the society.
The story of the Israelites pilgrimage to the promised land is very significant. It is a metaphorical way of explaining the pilgrimage of our souls towards the state of total rest, the cessation of wandering in the desert of our desires and fears.
Every event in our life is a conscious or unconscious search for that state of eternal rest in the land of honey and milk. There is no intrinsic necessity to wait till after 40 to concentrate our longing towards this state of rest.
Some people observe life keenly, their lives and the lives of others, and learn the futility and vanity of what we call life earlier on in life. The majority must learn the lesson the hard way. In the long run, everyone will be saved.
So take heart and know the salvation of your soul from the bondage of the body-mind (ego) is ever at hand. All you need is to earnestly desire it. Before then, watch keenly the events in your life, and the suffering in the world, and you may break the spell sooner than later.
