It amazes me how
fast time seems to go by. Yet, each day can feel like an eternity. It’s all a
state of mind really. Yet there are definite changes that happen through each
stage of life. From the time we are born, when we learn to walk and say our
first word, to our first day of school, to becoming a teenager, and then an
adult, to owning our independence, having children, watching our children grow
up, and then seeing them off to college, or letting them go to start their own
families. Losing loved ones, or realizing that you don’t quite look the same or
move the same, or even think the same. Change is inevitable. We grow older,
hopefully wiser; and depending upon how we lived and loved our life, we change physically.
Health is a very important part of aging. Health should be a priority at every
stage of life – if you’re breathing than you life’s health matters. Part of
managing life’s journey is learning how to age in a way that you can still feel
healthy, happy, and alive through every transition.
A lot of us
don’t learn this until so many years have passed. Then we are desperately
holding on to whatever “youthfulness” we can. We become scared, depressed,
anxious, and feel cheated. I read a quote recently written by George Orwell, “At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.” I take that to mean that each one of us is
who we are, and that to try and be something other than that is a waste of
energy. We age into who we want to be. So if you believe that aging makes you
old, useless, and lifeless, then you are that, and your face will show it. Or
you can believe that as you age, each change or transition is just another part
of you to explore and grow, and that too shows on your face – the face of
youthfulness, being alive. Obviously acting on this can actually be more
challenging than saying it. However, the only way around it is through it.
“What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” is truth.
How you think and feel will definitely
impact how you age. How you eat and live will also impact how you age, and in
turn how you think and feel. You need a healthy balance for every stage of
life. As we age into our 50’s and beyond we need to modify our eating habits
and our lifestyle in order to better serve our experienced bodies. We need to
always exercise our brains, our spirit, and our bodies to keep them fluid and
sharp. I’m sure most of you know of Betty White. She is definitely and older
lady to look up too. She has aged gracefully and with love for life and self.
It shows through her face, her eyes, and her smile. She may not move as quickly
as she did when she was younger, but she still is sharp as a whistle and
funnier then ever! I want to grow up to be an old lady like her, happy,
radiant, and full of life!
