Oprah, perhaps, is the one who popularized this phrase. It has always seemed to me a way of rationalizing a certain fatigue with life. Yes, “old souls” are deep. They understand things.
But it is my unshakeable belief that the end of wisdom is spontaneity, vigor, and vitality. It is fun. Of course life is serious, but does that not make play all the more important? For my part, the older I get, the more childlike I want to become (while paying my bills, of course!).