“Gee, he sure has aged.”
“Wow, she must have had a rough life.”
“Gosh, when did they get so old?”
“Wow, she’s got a lot of nerve wearing that at her age.”
“Does he think no one realizes he has no hair?”
“Why doesn’t she use sunscreen?”
“I’ll never let myself go like that guy.”
“Rethink that outfit, you’re not a kid anymore.”
“I guess he must be a lot older than me after all.”
“What? You mean they are my age????”
“But I don’t look that old…do I?”
“I guess I better think twice before wearing this.”
“I feel a lot younger than that.”
“Wonder if others are thinking that about me?”
“Where did the years go?”
“Who is this person in the mirror?”
It’s so easy to look at someone else and decide we are older or younger or thinner or fatter or more moisturized or more weather-beaten or whatever…and why? Does it matter?
Isn’t it supposed to be about self-love and self-care? How much more peaceful to accept ourselves and do the same for other boomers and those older…without rating ourselves on an “age scorecard”.
Sometimes I really do forget my age, because inside, I don’t feel a whole lot different than I did 25 years ago. At least it feels that way most days, except when I’ve walked up the stairs 13 times in an hour. Then I confess I can feel every year in my knees. (Actress Betty White, 96, said the secret to her longevity was “a bad memory and a house with stairs.”)
But in my mind, I still look at the world as something to be explored and life as something to be cherished. There are new places to go, new food to eat and new friends to make. So really I think my age is a consideration only when it can get me some cool discounts or spare me from re-experiencing a few of the best- forgotten follies of youth.
It’s when I look at another person in my age range and start comparing myself that trouble can begin.
Of course, advertising doesn’t help. There are few wonderful seniors in television commercials and print advertisements who look like real people and wear their wrinkles proudly. Of course, it’s usually a commercial for a prescription drug, adult diapers, or laxative.
Excuse me, but could we please see a few more people over 50 buying cars? Shopping for clothes? Dining out or cooking a meal? Surfing, hang gliding, exercising, or sailing?
But we all know television isn’t real, right? (It isn’t.) If we feel good enough to try something, then we should go for it, as long as no one’s going to get hurt.
So what if you walk into a yoga class and you think you’re oldest one?
True, you will be invisible to some of the youngsters. But there’s likely at least one thinking, “How cool is this…I want to be like him/her and still be taking care of myself when I’m that age.” And let them wonder what “that age” is.
Or if you’re headed to your 50th high school reunion, just remember: when you were in high school, you probably thought everyone else was cooler than you. You quickly learned that was ridiculous, that everyone felt insecure. That’s probably still true. At least now, we know it just doesn’t matter what’s on the outside.
So go for it. Learn it. Ride it. Read it. Live it. Don’t worry about your reflection in the mirror.
Chances are, you’ve never looked better.
ROCK that wrinkle!!
“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”
Buddha
When Roy Rogers came on TV back in the 50s, my grandmother bought me a pair of cowboy boots. I think I wore them to bed. I’ve owned a pair throughout my life and find them to be very comfortable – but a little warm in the summer. And I love the way they look! My wife, on the other hand shunned them – they did not project the right image. Last summer I finally got my wife to try on a pair of western cowboy boots. She is now the proud owner of a very expensive and damn cool pair of boots! She wears them everywhere. She said, “I used to worry about what image I was projecting. But we’ve done reasonably well financially, we’ve both had great careers. And these make ME feel young at heart and ready to go! So who cares about image!” We went to a New Years Eve party in our neighborhood (my kind of party 5:00pm to 7:30pm!) While others were dressed in their traditional stuff for ‘mature’ people she had on her jeans and boots. Most people thought she was too young to be in a 55+ community! She was very confident and poised and very relaxed with her ‘new’ image. You only look old if you think you look old!
Absolutely! When you feel good about yourself, it shows. And cowboy boots rock! I’m in mine all the time. All that stuff we worried about so much in our younger days…what a waste of energy. Thanks for your thoughts…(Roy Rogers is one of my all-tine favorites)!