MARGARET ATWOOD Young people worry a lot more than older people. And the reason they worry a lot more than older people is that they don't know the plot of their own lives yet. They don't know how it's going to turn out for them. Will they meet their true love? Will they be successful? At my age, I kind of know how the story goes. So should I get hit by a truck tomorrow? The plot will pretty much have unfolded.
Young people are more anxious because the course of their lives is unknown—there are so many doorways yet to be gone through. Older people have seen much of the arc of their life stories.
Is that the root of anxiety—not knowing the outcome? Can one be at peace with that?
