You’ve
discovered what it truly means to be “young at heart.”
The
wrinkles around your mouth and the pouchy jowls have no effect on you.
You
see the varicose veins in your legs and feet as a sign of victory—having
carried children and lifted the loads of life.
You
are able to make fun of your bat wings and still wear sleeveless shirts in the
summer.
That’s
what it means to grow old gracefully; it is a sign of maturity of spirit.
Something
we attain while we nurture others and as we, ourselves, learn and grow from
life’s experiences.
Yeah,
not so much…
My
own struggle with getting older has been a quiet one—but a real one. And I
don’t get that. As a woman of faith my struggles against aging make me question
my faith.
Shouldn’t
I be sort of excited to be on the dark side of 50? Isn’t one step closer to
eternity a bigger milestone than the number 60 that looms in the not-too-distant
future? Nope. Not at all.
So
it makes me wonder: What’s up with that?
I went to a Neil Diamond concert a few years ago and all I could think was: What are all these old people doing here?
Don't get me wrong: I am glad to be alive and yet the reality of facing aging is still very real.
And
I get that some people who are in their 70s think I’m still a babe in the
woods; but the fact is, I can’t even call myself “middle aged” unless I can
honestly say I think I will live to be around 112 “ish.” Probably not going to
happen regardless of how Suzanne Somers spins aging—but I do like her spunk and
am very tempted to order her electric-zapping facial contraption (has anyone
tried it?).
In
the meantime, I ponder this surprising dilemma more and more and look in the mirror less
and less.
I’m
trying to find the balance between my faith and digging in my heels against
time as it flies by—although I do like the idea of the gusts of time pulling
back the skin of my face and giving me a more youthful look.
Maybe
it is a win-win after all.
I'm on the same page with you, Cheryl. Each day goes by so quickly that I realize how important relationships with family and friends are to me; most importantly my relationship with the All Holy One. I often ask myself, what's really important here. What I am experiencing is a greater freedom to be myself, and to grow in my role as a wisdom elder.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said!
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