To my surprise, my 70s are nicer than my 60s and my 60s than my 50s, and I wouldn’t wish my teens and 20s on my enemies.

Lionel Blue’s quip reverses the usual narrative of aging as steady decline. He frames later decades as progressively “nicer,” suggesting that maturity can bring greater self-knowledge, emotional steadiness, and freedom from the anxieties and social pressures that often dominate youth. The punchline—he “wouldn’t wish” his teens and twenties on enemies—casts early life not as a golden age but as a period of turmoil, insecurity, and painful learning. The humor softens what is also a serious claim: that happiness may be less about physical prime than about perspective, acceptance, and the hard-won skills of living.