QUESTIONING MATURITY

Adults can resort to name-calling and belittling, and still refer to themselves as mature. They can throw tantrums and their own versions of hissy-fits, mimick others in childish voices, gossip, demonstrate outright hypocrisy, make brash decisions at others' detriment, and still be considered "mature."

And yes, I've seen all of the above demonstrated in "mature" adults.

So, what IS maturity, then? Is maturity, "possession of wisdom," or is it really just marked by your number of years?

The dictionary defines maturity as "the state, fact, or period of being mature."

... That might just be the worst definition I've ever come across...

The dictionary defines mature as "fully developed physically; full-grown."

That also makes little sense, because no one is ever fully developed or full-grown! We spend our whole lives growing and developing... so do we just never truly reach a point of maturity?

This is a question I can't really answer for myself, on my own. I think maturity is like love - it's a lot of things, it's difficult to define.

So I found an outside source:

"What is maturity ? Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence or destruction. Maturity is patience. It is the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of the long-term gain. Maturity is perseverance, the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging set-backs. Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat, without complaint or collapse. Maturity is humility. It is being big enough to say, "I was wrong." And, when right, the mature person need not experience the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so." 


Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it. The immature spend their lives exploring endless possibilities; then they do nothing."


( http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/spiritual-articles/8183-what-is-maturity.html )