Just Enjoy Chess Without Struggling to Improve??

I have been a fan of chess for 55 years, have bought and studied way more books than I need, have done thousands of tactics puzzles, have played OTB and online, etc. etc. Yet I have never really seen significant improvement. Yet now, at nearly 72, I have come to realize that chess has given my countless hours of enjoyment, despite my failure to reach even Class C. 
I have followed the greats in Chess Life and on YouTube and chess.com. I have read biographies of the champions, and played over hundreds of master games on "other" websites. And though I have, like all of us, dreamed of suddenly gaining 200 or 400 or more ratings points, I pretty much accept that that ain't gonna happen. But there is so much more to this game than simply improving. There is the simple love of the game. Anyone else?

I followed chess more closely when Fischer took on Spassky for the world title in 1972 and from that year to this year I have always enjoyed playing the game. I started to study openings then I found I could not remember them, and then I said to myself what am doing, it is a game. From 1973 I just played the game my way. The way I Iook at things is to go out and enjoy playing the game regardless of who wins. If you do win it is a bonus. I have made a lot of friends on this site. I also think because we are both growing old, is to take the opportunity of enjoying the game as best we can, because we grow older we could have a dementia problem further down the track, so we should enjoy what is there now and enjoy the game and the friendships that you make while enjoying your journey.

@MSteen: Thank you for your post. I feel the same way.

Glad that you can enjoy it, regardless of rating I think that is a really good mindset to have.
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About 1.5 yr ago i was like 800, and from then until now, I always enjoyed playing chess, so yeah, I definitely think you can enjoy chess at many different levels of knowledge of the game.
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Plus, I personally have the viewpoint that given that chess isn't even solved yet and even in the realm of what we have "discovered", nobody can reach the best level we have witnessed (Stockfish)...idk, I think enjoying chess at any level is very valid in the grand scheme of things -- we're just getting better low-depth approximations to the theoretical best play with better rating.
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I personally do want to improve because I have ambitions to understand various aspects of the game that I don't have much grasp on yet, but I think there are many valid ways to enjoy chess.

I'm 68. Learned to play chess when I was 10. But only played a few times through my life. I would have said I knew how to play, but only recently learned that I barely know. During the covid crap and my first year of retirement I decided to look into the online chess thing. I had not seen "queen's gambit" or searched youtube, etc. Since then I've watched hours of videos, read a few "how to play" books, a few biographies, completed chess.com lessons, etc.

I've found I enjoy the study more than playing and losing. I've not yet learned to handle the aggravation of losing. It stays with me until I try again. I often play and lose for several games. Sometimes I win when I don't deserve it. But every once in awhile, I see good play and win without too many mistakes. Then I get motivated again.

I would like to better understand the next level of chess skill. Hard to say why.

I’m still enjoying the game. I’ve bought and read some books and a few blogs. I loathe you tube and it’s stupid commercialism. I spent years memorizing information in my day job and not about to do it for a game. I win a few, lose a bunch, and keep playing because the game remains enjoyable to me. Plus, I don’t need to be cautious about losing a finger like I do with my woodworking. 😆