My long-time companion told me yesterday, the "gnarlier you get, the better you look." That's funny. I think I do have "gnarly" covered: "rough and twisted, especially because of old age or no protection from bad weather..."
Ha! Yes. That's pretty spot on and describes my life up to this point. I find that the longer I live, the more comfortable I am being who I am. I do believe we are here to discover who we really are, maybe discover our original face, as per Buddhism and to "be ourselves" to the maximum. Seems to me to be the most honest, simple, and rewarding way to live.
"If you were to be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?" Gnarly!