Bitterness

Mark McIlroy

10 September 2025



1. This note is relevant to people in late middle-age and old age.


2. Young people do not feel bitter. Even if they are suffering and have difficult times, they have hope for the future.


3. Once you get into old age you relise that you have limited time ahead of you. In most cases there are things that you wanted to have in life that you didn't get.


4. Bitterness is a poison. If you think about what other people have, or the things that you didn't get, you will be condemed to a life of bitterness.


5. My suggestions in this stage of life for this issue are:


6. Stop trying to achieve your goals. Trying to achieve a major goal takes a lot of time, energy and money. If you stop trying to achieve a goal then you will have more time, energy and money to enjoy life.


7. Think about the things that you did achieve, not the things that you didn't. Maybe you raised a family, maybe you had a chance to travel. These things should be happy memories and things to be proud of.


8. 'Once a year, go somewhere that you've never been before'. - The Dalai Lama. In old age it's generally not practical to travel on a large scale, however it is always possible to start something new or go somewhere you haven't been.


9. If you are single, consider looking for a partner. Some people become set in their ways. However if life is not happy then you might want to think about doing this.