We are all idealists when young – trapped in our minds – convinced of our immortality. Gradually, as we pass through middle-age, our energy dwindles and with it the structures we've erected: in particular the ego, and we begin to venture, albeit half-heartedly, albeit because we can no longer keep it at bay, into the real. Then, as old-age looms, and with it the aches and pains of decrepitude, reality hits us hard – now we no longer have the energy or spirit to engage it.