Monty Don Quotes

Age puzzles me. I thought it was a quiet time. My seventies were interesting and fairly serene, but my eighties are passionate. I grow more intense as I age.

Life is not quantifiable in terms of age, but I suppose in my fifties I am more grounded and more at ease in my own skin than when I was younger. I have a confidence that I didn't have before from the experiences I've had.

I've had 60 years of ups and downs, and all of the downs that I've had, I'm happy that I've had them because it's taught me to appreciate all the ups.

I feel the older I get, the more I'm learning to handle life. Being on this quest for a long time, it's all about finding yourself.

Many years ago, I used to say, 'I haven't lived long enough to be great.' Now I don't say that.

I feel like I've reached an age where I can relax a little bit with the knowledge of what I've been through, take all that experience and use it. I love the challenge of trying to get back to where I've been, and beyond it.

You just realize that you don't know everything there is to know. The older I get, the less I know, and that's a good thing. When I was young, I knew everything, and everything wasn't necessarily good.

It's so much more interesting having life under your belt.

Deeper things, heavier things happen to you as you get older and makes you more open.

I love getting older.

I've calmed down, certainly, from the days of being 18, but I'm still having a good time.

Age gives you a great sense of proportion. You can be very hard on yourself when you're younger but now I just think 'well everybody's absolutely mad and I'm doing quite well'.

One wouldn't want to have the same dilemmas at 50 as one had at 15. And indeed I don't. I have a very different take on life.

I don't know if it's that the scripts are evolving or just that I'm getting older, but the characters become more interesting as you get older because you've lived more life at different stages. You've loved; you've lost; you have more of that journey.

I have a feeling that books are a lot like people - they change as you age, so that some books that you hated in high school will strike you with the force of a revelation when you're older.

I'm far more comfortable in my 40s than I ever was.

At the age of 60, I am less experimental and more mature. I want most of all to convey my understanding of life.

I'm going to be 60, and I'm almost used to myself.

Everything in life is a lesson and I have learned from each marriage. Yes, I've made mistakes but every experience is a learning curve.

I'd like to be wise. You have to go through a lot to get there, but I'm willing to go through a lot.

Whether it's 18 years old or 40 years old, we think we know what's going on. But if you're lucky enough to continue the journey, its amazing how we keep learning how much we didn't know.

I guess the older I get, the more understanding and forgiving I've become.

I've had a lot of 'aha' moments, but the big 'aha' about growing older is the mental freedom.

When I was at drama school, I wanted to change the world, and thought I had some great wisdom to impart to people about humanity. Now that I'm older, I know enough to realise that I know nothing at all.

I'm a person who gets better with practice. Getting older is awesome - because you get more practice.